The Federal Reserve cut the Fed funds rate today but mortgage rates shot higher. This was not shocking to me as yesterday I wrote about whether Powell would ruin the year’s lowest mortgage rates with his remarks at the Fed press event — and that’s exactly what happened. When mortgage rates are near 6% and […]
Powell sends mortgage rates higher as he questions December cut Read More »
A growing number of economists believe that the Federal Reserve is close to announcing the end of its quantitative tightening (QT) program — a move that could have wide-reaching implications for the mortgage industry. Over the past few weeks, central bank officials have signaled they are prepared to wind down the policy aimed at shrinking
Fed prepares to pivot balance sheet, with potential ripple effects for mortgages Read More »
Happy lowest-mortgage-rate-of-the-year day on this Halloween week! Mortgage rates are currently at a yearly low right before the Fed meets so the question is: will Fed Chair Jerome Powell ruin the good news right before Halloween festivities? Whatever Powell says tomorrow, mortgage rates are behaving differently than they did last year at this time. Last
Will the Fed ruin the lowest mortgage rates of 2025? Read More »
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Wednesday that he’ll soon be giving President Donald Trump several candidates to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve. “Likely sometime after Thanksgiving, in December, we’ll present the president with three or four candidates for him to interview,” Bessent told CNBC’s Sara Eisen. Bessent disclosed that he’s trimmed the
Trump to receive Fed chair candidates in December Read More »
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, setting the target range at 4% to 4.25%. The first cut since December 2024 marks a new phase in the central bank’s effort to balance maximum employment and stable prices. Economists say it could usher in an easing cycle with direct
Fed cuts rates by 25 bps as inflation lingers, labor market weakens Read More »
Mortgage documents have been at the center of an effort by President Donald Trump to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook over alleged mortgage fraud, but a loan estimate from 2021, first seen and reported by Reuters on Friday, seems to undermine those allegations. The loan estimate for an Atlanta condo Cook bought in 2021 shows
Lisa Cook loan docs listing ‘vacation home’ seem to undermine mortgage fraud claims Read More »
The annual job revisions data was released today, which showed that 911,000 jobs that were supposedly created from March 2024 to March 2025 were removed from the books. The estimates were for 818,000 jobs to be lost in this report, so it came in worse than expected. Lower job growth has been a theme recently,
911,000 jobs cut in latest revisions. Is the Fed already too late? Read More »
President Donald Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook Monday evening after calling for her resignation last week over allegations of mortgage fraud. The move further consolidates Trump’s power at the Fed, which has traditionally been an independent organization shielded from overtly political actions. Cook, who was appointee to the seven-member Federal Reserve Board by
Trump fires Lisa Cook in latest move to pack Federal Reserve with supporters Read More »
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium left real estate and mortgage professionals cautiously optimistic. While expectations are building for lower interest rates, volatility remains a concern. In his final address as Fed chair at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual conference, Powell signaled the possibility
Powell’s Jackson Hole speech stirs cautious optimism for housing Read More »
We’ve reached fresh new year-to-date lows in mortgage rates after Jerome Powell, speaking at the Jackson Hole Economic Summit on Friday, suggested that the labor market may be more important than inflation for the time being. If only someone had been saying that for a few years! All jokes aside, mortgage rates have been trending
Mortgage rates hit year-to-date lows after Powell comments Read More »