Homebuyers rushed to lenders last week as mortgage rates dipped

Rates are on the rebound again as investors weigh a strong June jobs report and the Trump administration’s threats to impose new tariffs in August. Continue reading

Inflation improved in April, but Fed not expected to budge on rates

Trump administration keeps up pressure on Fed, but investors don’t expect the U.S. central bank to cut short-term rates until September. Continue reading

Tariff fears are behind those big swings in consumer confidence

A surge in the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for May made the preliminary numbers from a similar U of M survey look “far too negative,” one economist told clients Tuesday. Continue reading

Trump announces universal tariffs of at least 10% on most nations

Sweeping plan imposes higher duties on “worst offenders” and is in addition to 25 percent tariff on foreign automobiles slated to take effect April 3. Continue reading

Inflation, job worries drive ‘horrific’ consumer confidence report

Republicans are less worried about the future than Democrats and Independents, but “consumers from all three political affiliations are in agreement that the outlook has weakened since February.” Continue reading

Homebuyers and homeowners jump on big drop in mortgage rates

Requests to refinance surged 37 percent last week and were up 83 percent from a year ago after the biggest one-week decline in mortgage rates since November, the MBA’s latest weekly lender survey shows. Continue reading

Trump signals tariffs on Canada, Mexico will take effect March 4

There’s rising anxiety among investors and consumers about the potential impacts of a trade war, surveys show, with stock prices and bond yields retreating as March 4 deadline looms. Continue reading

Pullback in mortgage rates spurs refis but not purchase loans

Requests to refinance were up 12 percent week over week and 17 percent from a year ago last week after rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans pulled back to the lowest level in six weeks. Continue reading

Mortgage rates ease on benign December inflation report

Investors bid up shares of mortgage lenders and real estate companies after “relatively benign” CPI report ends speculation that inflation worries might force the Fed to raise rates this year. Continue reading

Mortgage demand crumbles as rates are on the rise again

With mortgage rates back to where they were last summer, purchase applications are coming in at the slowest pace since February 2024, Mortgage Bankers Association lender survey finds. Continue reading