As the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate nears 8%, new commentary from First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming details the predictions of where mortgage rates will end up throughout the remainder of the year.
Most Recent Articles
Will Home Insurance Markets Stabilize in 2026?
A pair of new reports suggest that while premium growth could moderate, higher construction costs, litigation, and climate-related risks continue to keep home insurance expensive for many...
How Income Growth Is Reshaping U.S. House-Buying Power
Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American, details the state of housing affordability, house-buying power, income growth and more in his latest article—giving aspiring homebuyers an idea of...
FHFA Report Shows Rise in Forbearance, Refinances as Mortgage Rates Fall
The Prevention, Refinance, and Federal Property Manager's Report for October 2025 has been released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), revealing the details of foreclosure prevention...
AEI: Housing Supply Is Critical to Prevent Another Home Price Surge
Returning housing affordability to 2019 levels would require dramatic shifts in rates, incomes, or prices, according to AEI, which warned that strong economic growth without new supply could...
PhoenixTeam Names Laura MacIntyre as Partner
Bringing three decades of industry experience, Laura MacIntyre has been appointed as Partner and Growth Officer at PhoenixTeam, helping propel further growth throughout the mortgage ecosystem. The...
Remodeling Growth, Trends Expected to Slow Moderately in 2026
The latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) indicates that annual expenditures on enhancements and upkeep for...
Coalition Warns about Mortgage Credit Shifts & Credit Score Rule Changes
In correspondence with Bill Pulte, who oversees the Federal Housing Finance Agency, some 35 advocacy groups detailed issues to tackle as the Trump administration strives to enhance nationwide home...
Fed Votes to Hold Interest Rates Steady
The central bank's decision ended a string of three consecutive quarter-percentage-point reductions. The FOMC also upped its assessment of economic growth and eased its concerns about the labor...
Case-Shiller Index Shows Tepid Home Price Growth in November
Strong price growth in cities such as Chicago and New York contrasted with ongoing declines in several Sun Belt markets, highlighting continued regional divergence in the November Case-Shiller...
Homebuyers File Class-Action Lawsuit Against Rocket Companies
A new consumer class-action lawsuit filed against Rocket Companies accuses the Michigan-based lending conglomerate of forcing agents to steer clients to use Rocket Mortgage. Rocket denies the...
FHFA Data Reveals Mixed Regional Home Price Trends Across the U.S.
While national home prices continued to edge higher in November, FHFA data shows wide variation across census divisions, highlighting pockets of price softness alongside stronger Midwest and...
U.S. Renters’ Worst Case Housing Needs Decline for First Time Since 2017
According to data from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies and recent HUD reports, the number of renter households with worst-case needs decreased in 2023 due to rising renter incomes and...
Which Metros Are Luxury Homebuyers Eyeing the Most?
At the end of 2025, New York City was dethroned as the capital of million-dollar listings by a historically popular and tropical metro emerging as the leading U.S. metro with the highest number of...
Co-Buying Trends Shift as Homebuying Remains Out of Reach for Many
A new report shows that homebuying trends are moving away from 'old fashioned' methods, as the median age of first-time buyers reaches a record 40 years—revealing why young women are avoiding...
Home Prices Slip in 106 Major Markets While National Values Inch Higher
Home prices are up year-over-year as of December 2025, marking a deceleration from the growth rate a year earlier. However, that's not the case in 106 of the nation's top 300 markets where prices...
Trump Floats Idea of Extending Business Tax Break to Homeowners
During a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the President floated the idea of allowing depreciation for personal residences, among other ideas to boost homeownership. The...
Housing Finance Chief Expands Mortgage Bond Buying
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte has lifted long-standing caps on how much mortgage-backed debt Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can hold, a move designed to provide relief to the...
Homeownership Beats Renting in Most Counties, But Rising Prices Complicate the Math
ATTOM data shows buying is typically the more affordable long-term option across much of the country, even as home prices rise faster than rents in most markets, raising the financial barrier to...
Office Space Conversions On the Rise in Effort to Expand Housing
Just a short walk from the Dupont Circle Metro station in Washington, D.C., space that was previously used as offices is being transformed into residential units. Mayor Muriel Bowser has stated...
Responsible Use of AI in Mortgage Servicing, Part 3
As artificial intelligence reshapes the servicing lifecycle, executives must balance innovation with governance, compliance, and transparency to deliver efficiency gains without eroding borrower...