Mortgage News

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday the first cut to its target interest rates this year. The new rate is lower by a quarter-point and is set to the range of 4% to 4.25%. The Fed indicated that the rate decrease was in response to a cooling labor market. The board voted 11 to 1 to lower the rate by a quarter-point. The Fed will meet again in October again to evaluate the effect of the new rate on the labor and inflation situation.

The number of mortgage applications for newly built homes rose 1.0% in August from the previous year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. However, loan requests were down 6% from July 2025. The MBA estimates that new single-family home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 730,000 units in August. The MBA also says market conditions are looking up for buyers as housing inventory continues to grow and the average loan size has remained below $380,000 for the last five consecutive months.

A trio of Sun Belt states have the highest share of homeowners paying HOA and condo fees, according to the newly released survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. Nevada was at the top of the list with 51.3% of it homeowners responsible for either HOA or condo fees, totaling a median of $95, which is $40 lower than the national median. Arizona was the runner-up with 44.7% of its households paying those extra fees with a median payment of $98. Florida was a close third, with 44.3% of state homeowners carrying HOA or condo fees, with a median price of $230.

The number of homes purchased by U.S. real estate investors in the second quarter fell to its lowest level since the spring of 2020, according to Redfin. There were roughly 52,000 homes bought by investors in second quarter, down 6% from the year before. Investors are pulling back due to high borrowing costs, higher home prices and lower asking rents. Plus more investors sold at a loss this year (7%) increased from last year (5%) as flipping costs continue to rise.

Long-term mortgage interest rates have fallen for six of the last seven weeks, with the seventh week just holding steady, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.50% during the week ended September 4, 2025, down from 6.56% the week before. Rates have fallen consistently since the week of July 17 when they averaged 6.75%. Falling rates could provide some relief to potential homebuyers this season.

Total mortgage applications decreased 1.2% in the latest week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the fourth straight week of declines. Refinance requests actually increased 1% for the week (and 20% for the year) but it wasn’t enough to offset the 3% fall in home purchase loan applications. Compared to a year ago, home purchase mortgage demand was actually up 17% though.  Meanwhile, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.64% from 6.69%.

The number of reported mortgage fraud cases has leaped 407% in the past three years, according to the Better Business Bureau, climbing from 14 incidents a month in 2022 to 71 in 2025. The average financial loss from a mortgage scam was $16,829, while the nationwide loss total has jumped to $1.38 million. Phishing made up 53.3% of all cases, which includes impersonating title companies, lenders and real estate agents, as well as redirecting wire transfers during the closing process.

Home purchases fell through at a record rate in July, as high prices and mortgage rates gave more potential buyers cold feet. About 58,000 U.S. home purchase contracts were canceled in July, or 15.3% of all sales, according to Redfin. That’s more than 1 in 7 contracts being cancelled, the same rate as in June, which set a record high. July’s pace is up from 14.5% a year ago. Cancellations were most prevalent in Texas and Florida.

Thanks to increased inventory and slower price growth, sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose 2% in July from June, according to the National Association of Realtors. The 4.01 million homes sold in July also represent a 0.8% increase from the year before. Meanwhile housing inventory rose 15.7% annually to 1.55 million available properties and the median sale price for an existing home in July was $422,400, just 0.2% higher than in July 2024. Mortgage rates also stayed in a fairly narrow range during the time those sales contracts were signed, creating added stability for buyers.

After four years of a housing market favoring sellers, the tables have now turned. There are currently 1.9 million homes for sale in the U.S. , according to Redfin, but only 1.5 million active buyers. That’s a difference of 500,000 more sellers than buyers, the largest gap on record for the housing market. Redfin advises sellers to adjust their expectations and list their homes at today’s prices rather than trying to sell for the higher price they may have paid when buying their homes in 2021 or 2022.

Long-term mortgage interest rates fell to their lowest level since October, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate on a  30-year fixed-rate home loan declined to 6.58% during the week ended August 14, 2025, down from 6.63% the week before. The average rate a year ago was only slightly lower at 6.49%. The lower rates prompted a burst of mortgage application activity. Loan application volume rose 10.9% in the latest week, with a 23% jump in refinance requests, and a 1% increase in home purchase applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

It was slightly easier to get a mortgage in July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI.) The MCAI inched up 0.2% last month to 103.9. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012. Any increase indicates a loosening of credit, while a decrease points to tighter lending standards. The increase in the July index was led by a rise in conventional loan credit, specifically among jumbo loan credit availability. The MBA says the month’s increase in credit was due to increased availability of ARM loans.

Long-term mortgage interest rates fell to their lowest level since April in the latest week, attracting more borrowers to the loan table. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on a  30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.63% during the week ended August 7, 2025, down from 6.72% last week. Compared to a year ago, the rate was lower still at 6.47%. Meanwhile, mortgage applications rose 3.1% last week, with refinance requests jumping 5% and home purchase loan applications increasing 2%.

In a bright spot for the U.S. housing market, sales of starter-homes increased 3.9% in June from the year before, to the highest June level in two years, according to Redfin.  Inventory of starter-homes also climbed to the highest point since October 2019. However, the average sales price continued to rise, growing 3.1% on an annual basis to $260,000. By city, San Diego led the nation in starter-home sales with an 18% increase, followed by Providence, RI (17.4%), and Sacramento (14.3%).

Rates on long-term mortgages remained in a very narrow range for all of July, and are likely to stay put in the wake of the latest Federal Reserve decision to hold its rate steady for the next six weeks. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage inched down to 6.72% during the week ended July 31, 2025, from 6.74% the previous week. Since the beginning of July rates have only fluctuated 0.3%.