Welcome to Homeseed’s Mortgage Market Update, where we dive into the latest trends, insights, and changes shaping the dynamic landscape of the housing and lending industries.
Mortgage Rate Trends & Forecasts
- After surging higher in early April, mortgage rates have moved lower in the last week.
- Mortgage rates trended lower week-over-week after the Fed’s announcement of tapering their balance sheet reduction and a weaker BLS Jobs Report.
- The financial markets now expect just one rate cut this year due to the persistence of elevated inflation.
The Fed Meeting
- The Fed wrapped up its third of eight annual meetings yesterday that followed with its usual press conference.
- The financial markets tune in to the press conference where Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, acknowledged that elevated inflation meant a delay for the Fed’s next move with rates.
- The good news was Powell reiterated that the next move is more likely to be a cut rather than a hike as the Fed believes they are still on track to return inflation back to their 2% target.
BLS Jobs Report
- April’s job growth missed estimates, as there were 175K new jobs created versus the 243K that were expected.
- Revisions to the data for February and March also shaved 22K jobs from those months combined while the unemployment rate rose to 3.9%.
- Overall, the data suggests softening in the labor sector, which could pressure the Fed to cut rates if this trend continues.
- RATES MOVE LOWER AFTER FED MEETING – Positive momentum following the Fed meeting continue for a second day after Fed acknowledges next move will likely be a rate cut.
https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/… - ACTIVE INVENTORY IS UP – Report shows that active inventory and new listings are up on both a year-over-year and week-over-week basis.
https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/… - FED MEETING HIGHLIGHTS – The Fed keeps rates unchanged as it notes lack of further progress on inflation, but did acknowledge its next move would likely be a cut later in the year.
https://www.cnbc.com/… - FHFA’S EQUITABLE HOUSING PLANS – FHFA announced their finalized plans to address barriers to sustainable housing opportunities for first-time and low-and-moderate income buyers.
https://www.housingwire.com/…