Scotsman Guide✓

Mortgage applications rose 3.4% seasonally adjusted during the week ending Oct. 23, the first weekly gain since the end of August. The @MBAMortgage sees little evidence the growth will last.

The median new purchase mortgage payment hit $2,215 in September, up $53 from August and $148 from a year earlier, @MBAMortgage data shows. Average 30-year mortgage rates reached 7.5% by the end of September, up from about 6.8% in August.

Fannie Mae's refinance acquisitions fell 52% to $18 billion during the third quarter. Net income still rose 5% from the second quarter to $4.17 billion.

New-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted 676,000 annual rate in September, down 0.6% from August and 5.3% from a year earlier. Typical 30-year mortgage rates rose from about 6.7% to 7.5% during the month.

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Fannie Mae's Home Price Index rose 2.4% from a year earlier in August. The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 2.1%, up from 1.9% in July.

Liquidity risks are growing for lender-servicers with large government loan portfolios. More of those loans are nonperforming, but servicers still must make advances to investors. Refinance production is projected to fall to $430 billion in 2027.

Consumer confidence rose 7.5 points to 91.7 in October, @Conferenceboard reported. On a six-month moving average, confidence improved only among consumers younger than 35 and households earning $100,000 or more.

The Fed held rates steady Oct. 28 in a 10-2 vote. Two officials dissented in favor of a hike, leaving a December increase in play as inflation runs above 3%.

Among capital sources, commercial mortgage-backed securities had the highest delinquency rate in the third quarter, @MBAMortgage reports. Of their loan balances, 4.97% were 30 or more days delinquent, up from 4.82% in the second quarter.

RT @cred_iq: Thanks to @ScotsmanGuide for covering our multifamily refinance research. CRED iQ estimates $6.8 billion in new equity is needed for multifamily loans maturing through 2027, and 23% of those loans can’t refinance without it. Full read:

Maintenance, insurance and property taxes now average more than $16,500 a year, a Zillow and Thumbtack analysis found. That's $1,380 a month on top of principal and interest, nearly 42% of the total monthly payment.

Cred iQ says 23% of the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and CMBS multifamily loans maturing through 2027 can't refinance at current rates without new equity. Together they would need about $6.8 billion.

Treasury's proposed rule would give large investors an 18-month window after Jan. 7, 2027, to keep buying new build-to-rent homes under the ROAD to Housing Act. Comments on the proposal are due Nov. 23.

A federal appeals court in Boston rejected HUD's request to lift an order blocking the department from stripping approved grant funding from fair housing nonprofits nationwide. The lower court put the hold in place in late August.

About $757 billion in multifamily loans are set to mature through 2028, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Developers who borrowed at around 3% are now seeing rates of 5.5% or higher, depending on the loan type.

Monthly costs on a median-priced home would have topped 43% of typical wages in more than 3 in 10 counties during the third quarter, according to @Attomdata. Those costs exceeded historical norms in 570 of 583 counties.

The 30-year mortgage rate averaged 7.32% for the week ending Oct. 22, down from 7.4% in the prior period, according to Freddie Mac. The drop is the first in almost two months.

The share of small investors actively buying homes hit a 15-year high in the first half of 2026, @realtordotcom reported. Investors with fewer than 10 properties made 66% of investor purchases.

Trump signed an executive order Oct. 22 directing USDA and VA to lower mortgage rates and targeting refinance costs.