Real Estate News and Economic Vibes
In a move to help affordability challenges, President Trump announced that he would like to ban large investors, (aka private equity giants, REIT’s etc) from buying up single family homes. This would require Congressional approval. He also announced that he would like to lower rates by suggesting (or telling) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to do a one time purchase of an additional $200M in mortgage bonds, which is largely seen as having minimal impact on long term rates.
As we rang in the New Year almost three weeks ago, analysts were largely forecasting a single interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in 2026, more recently, however, the chief economist at JPMorgan released a notably more hawkish outlook, predicting that no rate cuts will occur this year. In a note to clients, he stated, “We now expect the Fed to hold rates throughout 2026, with the next move being a hike later in 2027.”
That said, mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest level in more than three years, last seen in September 2022. Additionally, there are now more Americans with mortgages higher than 6% than below 3%, a very positive development that will help with the mortgage lock in effect. Employment numbers, which have been showing weakness, and inflation data will loom large in the months ahead to determine where, exactly, interest rates will land.
Local stats below, note that, in many areas, prices were down last month, mostly due to seasonal low inventory.
Weekly national mortgage rates for conforming loans, top credit scores:
30 yr. fixed rate | 6.07 | ||
15 yr. fixed rate | 5.60 |
