http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n Mortgage Newsletters Archive https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260529 Fri, 29 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Fri, 29 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260529 New home sales pulled back in April after stronger readings in the prior two months. According to the latest Census Bureau and HUD data, sales of new single-family homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 622,000 , down 6.2% from March and 11.3% from a year earlier. Inventory moved slightly higher, with the number of new homes for sale rising to 489,000 , up 1.7% from March but still 2.2% below April 2025 levels. At the current sales pace, that left months’ supply at 9.4 months , up from 8.7 months in March and 8.6 months one year ago. Pricing was mixed. The median sales price climbed to $422,500 , up 8.0% from March and 2.2% from a year earlier. The average sales price ticked up to $508,800 , a modest 0.7% monthly gain, though it remained 1.1% Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260528 Thu, 28 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Thu, 28 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260528 We were close yesterday and we officially arrived today. Mortgage rates may still be elevated compared to almost all of the past 10 months, but they're the lowest they've been since May 14th.  This was accomplished with a modest drop versus yesterday's levels after another round of news on a potential U.S./Iran peace deal. This morning's inflation data also helped the underlying bond market find its footing. In terms of nuts and bolts, top tier 30yr fixed rates fell to 6.59% for the average lender, down from 6.61% yesterday and from 6.75% last Tuesday. [thirtyyearmortgagerates] Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260527 Wed, 27 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Wed, 27 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260527 Early in the trading session, the bond market began improving in response to more updates on a potential Iran peace deal. When bonds improve, rates fall, but the initial reaction proved short-lived.  Thankfully, the reversal didn't do any new damage. This allowed the average lender to keep rates right in line with yesterday's 6.61% for a top-tier 30 year fixed. You'd have to go back to May 14th to see anything lower. Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260526 Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260526 Although mortgage rates are still relatively close to their highest levels in 9 months, they continue moving lower after hitting those highs as the beginning of last week. Today's improvement follows news over the weekend that the U.S. and Iran are even closer to agreeing on a framework that would end the war. The war remains a key source of volatility for rates and other financial markets. In general, escalation and/or delays in the peace process are bad for rates. De-escalation and improved peace prospects are good for rates. While none of the news of the past 48 hours guarantees a speedy end to hostilities, the market viewed it as a step in the right direction. Top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rates fell 0.04% for the average lender to hit 6.61%. Last Monday's level was 6.75%. Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260522 Fri, 22 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Fri, 22 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260522 Residential construction activity was mixed again in April, as building permits rebounded while housing starts pulled back modestly from March’s stronger pace. The latest Census Bureau data continues to reflect a construction sector navigating uneven demand and affordability pressures. Privately owned housing starts fell 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.465 million , down from March’s revised 1.507 million pace. Despite the monthly decline, starts were still 4.6% higher than April 2025 levels. Single-family starts dropped 9.0% to 930k, while multifamily starts (buildings with five units or more) increased to 529k. On the permitting side, activity recovered after March’s sharp decline. Total building permits rose 5.8% to an annual rate of 1.442 million , tho Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260521 Thu, 21 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Thu, 21 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260521 After posting a decent recovery from 9-month highs yesterday, it looked like mortgage rates were destined to bounce back toward slightly higher levels today. In fact, when lenders released their initial rates this morning, the average 30yr fixed rate was indeed moderately higher. But shortly after 1pm ET, news broke regarding additional progress in the Iran war peace process. Much like many similar headlines of late, this one could easily unravel in the coming hours, but the bond market responded positively enough to erase the day's losses. In general, when bonds are gaining, rates move lower. Today's intraday gains allowed lenders to "re-price" to lower rates. The average lender was just slightly lower than yesterday's latest levels as of 3pm ET. On the plus side, lower is low Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260520 Wed, 20 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Wed, 20 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260520 Wednesday brought some much-needed relief for the mortgage market after rates surged to new 9 month highs of 6.75% yesterday. Whereas that rate spike was decoupled from the prevailing narrative of war-related headlines, today's recovery was quite the opposite. Newswires came out shortly after 10am ET that suggested the U.S. and Iran are nearing a final draft of a peace agreement. While such news has been prone to correction and revision, the market was nonetheless willing to respond quickly and rather forcefully. Oil prices dropped sharply with Treasury yields in tow. In the bond market, "yield" is another word for "rate." And because mortgage pricing is directly dictated by mortgage-specific bonds, when yields are falling, mortgage rates will almost always be falling as well. Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260519 Tue, 19 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Tue, 19 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260519 It was another rough day for the bond market and, thus, for interest rates . Investors aggressively sold bonds in the first 2 hours of trading, taking 10yr Treasury yields to the highest level in more than a year. Mortgage-specific bonds have been doing better versus Treasuries in recent months thanks to increased purchase demand from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. All else equal, higher demand for mortgage bonds = lower rates, relatively. In the current case, it means mortgage rates haven't moved up as much as Treasury yields over the past 6 months. That said, rates have still definitely moved higher. Today's top tier 30yr fixed rate is up to 6.75% for the average lender--the highest since July 2025, and a whopping 0.75% higher since before the Iran war began. This makes it the fas Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260518 Mon, 18 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Mon, 18 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260518 Mortgage rates hit their highest levels in more than 9 months at the end of last week. Now today, they've edged slightly higher yet again with the average top tier 30yr fixed rate at 6.68% versus 6.65% on Friday. This wasn't necessarily destined to be the case today. In fact the day began with the average lender unchanged. But the underlying market remains highly attuned to breaking news on the Iran war. Earlier in the day, that news was helpful for rates as it spoke to the possibility of compromise on a peace deal. Subsequent headlines refuted the initial news, thus pushing the financial market back in the other direction (i.e. toward higher rates). The result was that the average lender recalled their initial rate offerings and re-released higher rates. Things were on track t Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260515 Fri, 15 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT Fri, 15 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260515 Mortgage rates are driven by bonds and the bond market hoped to see more evidence of shift toward peace during the 2-day Trump/Xi meeting in China. As soon as Trump got back on the plane to head home, bonds began tanking (i.e. jumping to higher yields). When bond yields spike, mortgage rates follow, and today is no exception. The average top-tier 30yr fixed rate is up to 6.62% this morning, right in line with levels seen on March 26th and 27th and the highest since August 1st. If there's a silver lining, it's that mortgage rates aren't higher. Much of the credit goes to the ramp in purchases of mortgage-backed debt by Fannie and Freddie. The more mortgage debt they buy, the better it is for mortgage rates relative to benchmarks like U.S. Treasuries. For instance, Treasuries are Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter