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Elevated mortgage rates aren’t discouraging homebuyers

Housing Wire

Right now we have elevated mortgage rates , trade war uncertainty , rising property taxes and home insurance, terrible consumer confidence data and a downgrade of the government’s debt, among other factors. Typically, mortgage rates around 6% are necessary for significant growth in the housing market.

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Lower mortgage rates are spurring housing demand

Housing Wire

Mortgage rates recently hit a year-to-date low, coinciding with ongoing market disruptions from tariffs. In fact, if mortgage rates head toward 6%, we will have a positive year here. Last year, we saw mortgage rates increase from 6.63% to about 7.50%, leading to challenges in the purchase application data.

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How are mortgage rates affecting housing demand?

Housing Wire

It has been almost two months since mortgage rates spiked again, and my initial thought was this would tank housing demand. We had a positive 18-week period with purchase applications before mortgage rates started rising in September. Initially, the data showed more robust performance as mortgage rates approached 6%.

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Better mortgage spreads boost housing demand in 2025

Housing Wire

One of the lesser known storylines in housing economics is that the improvement in mortgage spreads since 2023 has contributed to a noticeable trend in purchase application data for 2025, which is now showing 15 consecutive weeks of positive year-over-year growth. A historical review of these spreads shows that they are currently elevated.

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Lower mortgage rates spark housing demand heading into spring

Housing Wire

Earlier this year, when mortgage rates soared to 7.26%, a cloud of worry hung over the housing market many feared that home sales would tumble in 2025, fueled by concerns about inflation and tariffs. But when it seemed doom and gloom would prevail, the 10-year yield dropped, pulling mortgage rates lower in a lovely slow dance.

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Rising mortgage rates zap builder confidence

Housing Wire

Todays housing starts data exceeded estimates; however, a closer examination of the report with the builder confidence reveals that the recent rise in mortgage rates , approaching 7.25%, has negatively affected builder sentiment. Since late 2022, our analysis indicates that mortgage rates in the 6%-6.5%

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Mortgage applications rebounded 20% last week as rates dipped

Housing Wire

Mortgage applications jumped 20.0% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) weekly mortgage applications Survey for the week ending April 4, 2025. The refinance index increased 35% from the previous week as mortgage rates took a dip. of total applications from 38.6% from 15.8%

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