Category Archives: Housing Finance

Aimed at improving U.S. housing affordability issues, President Donald Trump introduced the idea of a 50-year mortgage loan, with FHFA Director Bill Pulte confirming shortly thereafter. While the plan seems unofficial – nothing has yet been posted...

Commercial real estate (CRE) dealmaking in 2025 has slowed, with the dollar value of deals growing only 5% from Q3 2024, according to Moody’s data. While office and retail sectors are making a comeback, deal...

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) are becoming more popular among prospective homebuyers due to the continued unaffordability of the U.S. housing sector. ARMs accounted for 10% of purchase-mortgage applications in the week ended October 3, the highest...

The double-digit rise in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) delinquencies for September was mainly due to two office building loan defaults in Manhattan. New 60-day-plus delinquencies rose by $1.69 billion from August to September, and over half the...

The Wall Street Journal reported that housing starts fell to 1.307 million in August, down from 1.429 million in July, and lower than economist expectations of 1.37 million. Starts were down 6 percent from a year earlier. Housing...

While Federal Reserve interest rate changes can impact the residential mortgage market, the Wall Street Journal wrote that the complex relationship between mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and Treasurys plays a bigger role in mortgage rates. When the market...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Washington Examiner in an interview that the Trump Administration plans to declare a national housing emergency this Fall. Housing costs and mortgage rates have risen since the pandemic, and housing affordability...

Freddie Mac reported that the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit a 10-month low of 6.56 percent, potentially opening the door for 2 million homeowners to refinance their mortgages. The Wall Street Journal notes...

During an interview on Mornings with Maria, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that all the big banks will play a role in the potential sale of a partial stake of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Secretary...

CMBS backed by office buildings in New York City has exceeded 2021 levels and reached $11 billion through August 2025. Notably, capital is also flowing towards older buildings in more desirable neighborhoods that previously struggled...

Buyers are choosing to stay out of the homebuying market as they struggle with mortgage rates well above pre-pandemic levels as well as persistently high prices. While residential construction starts grew by 5.2 percent in July,...

According to Bloomberg, the Trump Administration had conversations about selling 5 to 15 percent of stock in the GSEs through an initial public offering in hopes to raise $30 billion. Currently, Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s...