All articles tagged with #freddie mac
Mortgage rates surged 0.75 percentage points to about 6.75% for the 30-year fixed as the bond market sold off in early trading; mortgage-backed bonds have held up better than Treasuries thanks to demand from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the move is the sharpest since late 2024 and marks a new high since before the Iran war began.
FHA will allow VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T for insured mortgages, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are updating guides to accept the new scores, a move aimed at lowering costs and broadening access to homeownership through greater competition in government-backed housing finance.
Freddie Mac reports the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.38% for the week, down 9 basis points—the first drop in five weeks as rates ease from a six-month high. The pullback coincides with a drop in the 10-year Treasury yield below 4.3% amid easing inflation fears, and homebuilders like D.R. Horton, Lennar, and PulteGroup edged higher. Despite the relief, affordability remains stretched with rates still above 6%. Redfin notes a record 34.2% of home sellers reduced prices in February, averaging a 7.3% cut ($40,915), underscoring ongoing housing-market pressure. Uncertainty remains ahead of U.S.-Iran peace talks and its potential impact on the Fed’s rate outlook.
Ackman argues that high-quality stocks are trading at attractive discounts and flags Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as potential 10x upside; Michael Burry agrees with the bullish view as both bet on a market bargain amid volatility and evolving post-crisis policy dynamics.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman says the Middle East conflict is bullish for equities and urges investors to buy quality, pointing to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac trading near lows with 10x upside potential.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.22% this week (from 6.11%), with the 15-year at 5.54%; higher Treasury yields and inflation concerns helped push rates up, dampening spring homebuying prospects as refinancing slows and overall demand for housing remains weak.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 6.11% this week (from 6.00%), with the 15-year rate at 5.50%, as bond-market jitters tied to the Iran conflict and higher oil prices offset softer economic readings; the trend mirrors borrowing costs linked to the 10-year Treasury yield, amid a housing market still weaker than pre-pandemic norms.
U.S. mortgage rates rose back above 6% for the week ending March 5, with the 30-year fixed at 6% per Freddie Mac, as conflict with Iran rattles financial markets and the 10-year Treasury yield climbs; last week rates briefly dipped below 6%, but analysts warn that sustained Middle East tensions and higher oil prices could keep pressure on rates. Despite the uptick, rates remain well below early-2025 highs, and the housing market shows a mixed picture—affordability has improved, yet sales fell in January while prices continued to rise.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.98% in Freddie Mac’s latest survey—the first dip below 6% since September 2022 and down from about 7% a year earlier—potentially reducing monthly payments by hundreds of dollars and offering a glimmer of relief for a stalled housing market, though evidence that lower rates have spurred more activity remains limited as policymakers floated affordability measures.
Mortgage rates dipped back into the 5s, with the 30-year fixed at 5.99% today (down 0.05) as the broader bond market and MBS benefited from Fannie/Freddie bond-buying plans; no new news sparked the move and today’s improvement is modest compared with January’s brief visit to similar levels. Lenders’ quotes vary based on upfront costs and borrower specifics, so 5.99% is a top-tier average rather than a universal rate, and rates remain vulnerable to intraday reversals if the bond market moves against them.
The White House touts a housing-market upturn under President Trump, citing Freddie Mac data that mortgage rates are at a multi-year low and affordability is improving, with rising refinance activity and demand for home purchases. Rents have declined, and starts are up, while policy moves—such as $200 billion in mortgage-backed-securities purchases, limiting large investors in single-family homes, barring certain non-citizens from taxpayer-backed loans, and rolling back the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule—are framed as expanding access to homeownership and lowering costs for American families.
Mortgage rates remain near three-year lows after early-January MBS purchases by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae spurred a drop; a softer-than-expected January CPI helped push yields a bit lower, keeping rates in a tight range around those long-term lows.
Freddie Mac reports the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.06% as of Jan. 15, the lowest in more than three years and down from 7.04% a year ago, a drop that has spurred renewed homeBuying and refinancing activity and eased the lock-in effect as affordability improves.
The average US long-term mortgage rate declined to its lowest point in more than three years, easing borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers according to Freddie Mac.
Trump is pushing to lower consumer borrowing costs outside the Federal Reserve by directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use their balance sheets to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to press mortgage rates downward and proposing a one-year cap of 10% on credit-card interest. The moves aim to ease affordability without legislation or new regulations, but economists warn they could backfire or slow the economy even if mortgage rates dip below 6%.