News and Views

Realtor.com; Getty Images (1) Mortgage rates ticked back up this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan jumping from 6.86% last week to 6.95% for the week ending July 3, according to Freddie Mac. “Mortgage rates increased this week, coming in just under seven percent,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, […]

Photo-illustration by Realtor.com; Source: Getty Images (5) President Joe Biden and Donald Trump will meet on Thursday night for the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle, and sparks are sure to fly. While millions across the country will be tuning in, the most important viewers for each candidate to win over will be

Realtor.com; Getty Images (1) Mortgage rates sank further this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan falling from 6.87% last week to 6.86% for the week ending June 27, according to Freddie Mac. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continues to trend down, hitting the lowest level in almost three months,” Sam Khater,

Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images The top industry group representing U.S. homebuilders has praised the Biden administration’s latest efforts to boost the nation’s housing supply, but is calling for further action to eliminate regulations it says stifle new construction. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced a new program that will provide an additional $100

Getty Images The numbers: Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. plunged in May, as home buyers scaled back in the face of high mortgage rates. New-home sales were at their lowest level since November. Sales of newly built homes fell 11.3% to an annual rate of 619,000 in May, from a revised rate

Realtor.com; Getty Images (2) The spring housing market is officially over, and home sales fizzled out in the last full month of the season. Sales of existing homes shrank by 0.7% in May compared with April, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors®. Sales also fell annually, dipping 2.8% from May 2023 to

Getty Images Homebuyers aren’t the only people feeling a lack of hope about the housing market—homebuilders share that sentiment, too, according to a new report. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, released on Wednesday, decreased by 2 points in May, dropping from 45 to 43, indicating a continued lack of confidence

Realtor.com; Getty Images (1) Mortgage rates continued to fall this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan sinking from 6.95% last week to 6.87% for the week ending June 20, according to Freddie Mac. “Mortgage rates fell for the third straight week following signs of cooling inflation and market expectations of

Realtor.com; Getty Images (1) Mortgage rates dipped further this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan falling from 6.99% last week to 6.95% for the week ending June 13, according to Freddie Mac. “Mortgage rates continued to fall back this week as incoming data suggests the economy is cooling to a

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Mortgage rates are likely to remain elevated through the summer, after Federal Reserve policymakers held the benchmark interest rate steady at their latest meeting. As expected, the Fed on Wednesday left the federal funds rate unchanged at a target range of 5.25% to 5.5%. The U.S. central bank has now