Photo: Derek Jensen (illustrative housing archive, 2005)
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage held at 7.38% over the past week, interrupting the recent downward movement in borrowing costs even as jumbo and Federal Housing Administration loan rates edged lower, according to HousingWire.
HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center put the 30-year jumbo average at 7.62%, down seven basis points from a week earlier. Its 30-year FHA average fell eight basis points to 7.16%. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
The figures show a mixed week for borrowers: the standard 30-year benchmark was unchanged, while the two other loan categories tracked in the report posted modest declines. Those averages describe different types of financing, rather than three interchangeable offers for the same borrower.
December expectations shape the outlook
The quiet week followed the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave its policy rate unchanged last week. HousingWire reported that CME Group’s FedWatch tool showed 77% of interest-rate traders pricing in a quarter-percentage-point increase in December. That figure reflects market expectations at the time of the report, not a decision already made by the central bank.
Hector Amendola, president of Las Vegas-based lender SimplyPMG, told HousingWire he believed a December increase was already reflected in current mortgage rates. He said he did not expect a dramatic move in either direction during the remainder of the year.
HousingWire lead analyst Logan Mohtashami linked recent downward pressure on mortgage rates to a decline in the 10-year Treasury yield. His analysis pointed to concerns about the financial effects of tighter monetary policy on some artificial-intelligence companies and the debt used to finance that sector.
The distinction matters for buyers watching the Fed: an expected policy change and the mortgage rate available today are different measures. Tuesday’s report showed the standard 30-year average holding steady even with traders anticipating another increase.
Earlier housing directive remains in focus
Lenders are also assessing President Donald Trump’s housing-finance executive order, which was signed last month. It is an existing policy development, not a new order announced Tuesday.
HousingWire said the order addresses mortgage-insurance cancellation, an expanded title-waiver program, rates on some government-backed loans and a manufactured-housing task force. The report described industry reaction to those measures, rather than a new across-the-board reduction in mortgage rates.
United Wholesale Mortgage President and CEO Mat Ishbia, speaking in his monthly industry video, welcomed the attention to homeownership costs while cautioning that some proposals would help and others would not. He singled out making the title-insurance waiver pilot permanent.
Amendola also supported easier mortgage-insurance cancellation for eligible borrowers and title waivers on certain refinances. Those potential savings concern particular costs and transactions. For the broad 30-year fixed-rate measure in Tuesday’s update, the weekly result was still 7.38% with no change.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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