Mortgage rates

For the second week in a row, the 30-year fixed increased by 11 basis points, Freddie Mac found, a result of reaction to oil price hikes from the Iran conflict.

Two top housing platforms disagree on the best week to list in 2026, but both agree a rare window for sellers is opening this spring.

The conflict pushed oil price futures above $100 a barrel for a short time earlier this week, which affected bond investors and the 10-year Treasury yield.

Several mortgage wholesale and partnership channel announcements came out coincidentally following loanDepot's return to the broker channel.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below 6% at the end of last month for the first time since 2022, bringing purchase borrowers back to the market.

An estimated 565,000 first-lien refinances closed in the fourth quarter, up 50% from a year prior and the most since the second quarter of 2022, ICE found.

Borrowers or lenders could use the prediction markets as a hedging tool, although experts noted the lack of trading volume as cause for caution.

While this only shows a 2-basis-point rise in the 30-year fixed since last week, the Lender Price product and pricing engine data is 30 basis points higher.

For the first time since early September 2022, the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey has the 30-year below 6%, but the 15-year gained this week.

Research from Andrew Davidson claims a significant number of mortgage borrowers would have a wide variance in credit score if less than three pulls are used.

Mortgage rates edged higher after the Fed held rates steady, with markets weighing political shifts, Treasury moves and mixed signals on where borrowing costs head next.

Even with the 4 basis point rise in the 30-year fixed over the past two weeks, mortgage rates are still hovering near three-year lows, Freddie Mac said.

First Horizon's loans to mortgage companies in the fourth quarter rose at the fastest clip in more than two years, as the housing market showed small signs of revival.

The Federal Reserve is slated to undertake a number of important rules and regulations in 2026, but decisions around agency leadership and the Trump administration's avowed effort to exert greater control over the central bank are likely to leave a lasting legacy at the agency.

The 30-year rate dropped just 0.2 percentage points, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's recent comments caused Treasury yields to rise.

Allowing lenders to base mortgage decisions on single- or double-pull credit reporting would result in more risk to banks, and higher costs for borrowers.

While new jobs data contributed to falling Treasury yields, mortgage rates showed a mixed picture with some trackers moving in opposite directions.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell 2 basis points this week, Freddie Mac said, but other sources like Zillow and Lender Price reported larger drops.

The bank "temporarily" paused home equity line of credit lending in April 2020, over concerns regarding the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Employment came in below estimates, which some economists expect could move the bond market in ways that affect loan costs even before the Fed meets next.