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Mortgage Rates End Week at Highs

Don't stress out. If we ignore the past 5 days, today's mortgage rates are still the lowest since early 2023.  That said, they're up a bit from last week and they moved moderately higher day-over-day. Last week's news regarding Fannie and Freddie's plans to buy $200 bln of MBS (the mortgage-backed securities that directly dictate mortgage rates) made for a rapid drop in the average mortgage rate, but that had largely run its course by Monday. Since then, the market has been finding its range. Mortgages have also been contending with countervailing forces in the broader bond market. Specifically, Treasury yields and Fed rate expectations have been rising. Just today, the 10yr yield finally broke up and out of a range that has held firm for more than 4 months. Mortgage rates have been insulated from that negative momentum in Treasuries (something that would normally imply an equal amount of negativity in the mortgage world) thanks to Fannie/Freddie MBS purchases. 

Source: Mortgage News Daily | 16 Jan 2026 | 9:06 pm

Builder Sentiment Survey Not Yet Reflecting Recent Rate Changes

Builder confidence slipped to start the year, with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) falling two points to 37 in January. The erasure of December’s modest gains doesn't really do much to change the broader picture: builder sentiment remains stuck in a holding pattern near its lowest levels, weighed down by the usual suspects of persistent affordability challenges and rising construction costs. The underlying components weakened across the board. The index measuring current sales conditions dipped one point to 41, while the gauge tracking prospective buyer traffic fell three points to 23—continuing to solidify its status in “low to very low” territory. Most notably, future sales expectations declined three points to 49, slipping below the breakeven level of 50 for the first time since September. “While the upper end of the housing market is holding steady, affordability conditions are taking a toll on the lower and mid-range sectors,” said NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes. “Buyers are concerned about high home prices and mortgage rates, with down payments particularly challenging given elevated price-to-income ratios.” There was at least a partial offset on the rate front. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz pointed to a recent decline in mortgage rates to the lowest level in three years. However, most survey responses were collected before the announcement that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities, meaning any benefit from that policy action was largely not reflected in January’s results.

Source: Mortgage News Daily | 16 Jan 2026 | 7:23 pm

Compliance, Servicing, Mortgage Reset Tools; February and March Events and Education

How are we halfway done with January already? Wasn’t it just New Year’s? Some lenders slow down in the winter, but I am hearing reports of great Decembers and Januarys. Wanna fire up your sales team? Here’s an article: “The golden handcuffs are slipping in the U.S. housing market.” As industry vets knew they would eventually, borrowers with “once-in-a-lifetime” rates are refinancing, or selling houses with those mortgages on them. There is a lot of news and change, both locally and globally, for originators to follow, and the current STRATMOR Group blog is titled, “Helping Borrowers in a Market Defined by Complexity and Change.” (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by Figure. Take advantage of Figure’s technology and products like its fixed HELOC, DSCR loan, piggyback loan, and direct debt paydown, helping you serve more of your existing network and expand into new markets. Hear an interview with FINOFR’s Keith Kelly on how to take the friction out of the loan process for everyone.) Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders After years of elevated mortgage rates, tight inventory, and stretched affordability, the housing market is beginning to show signs of a thaw. In 2026, the question isn’t whether conditions are improving. It’s how quickly momentum will build and what will sustain it. Join First American Data & Analytics for a 2026 Housing Market Outlook webinar featuring Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American. We’ll break down the data shaping today’s market, from mortgage rates and Fed policy to affordability, labor market fundamentals, demographic demand, new-home construction, and regional performance, and highlight the signals pointing to a measured, gradual recovery. If the market is shifting from freeze to forward motion, this webinar is your roadmap for what comes next. Register now to gain the insights you need to navigate a year defined by progress, not a breakout, in 2026.

Source: Mortgage News Daily | 16 Jan 2026 | 4:50 pm

Slow Start, Quiet Calendar

Last week reinforced the lesson anything can happen in the bond market--even with less than an hour left on an otherwise uneventful day. There's no way to plan ahead for that eternal caveat, so we're left to observe prevailing momentum/volatility and simply consider risks on the event calendar. In today's case, bonds are moderately weaker overnight with 10yr yields pushing the upper boundary of the trading range. MBS are outperforming modestly and without any other specific justifications, we will continue to assume a combination of actual and expected GSE purchases. The calendar is effectively silent with only two reports that never have a meaningful impact.

Source: Mortgage News Daily | 16 Jan 2026 | 3:38 pm

Data-Driven Weakness

Data-Driven Weakness It was a reasonably straightforward day for the bond market. Trading was flat overnight, then weaker after the 8:30am Jobless Claims data.  That report is hit and miss as a market mover, but a sub-200k print without any recent seasonal spike is certainly worth a few bps of weakness. Impacts were most notable in Fed Funds Rate expectations, which have now fully eliminated any possibility for a January cut and lowered the probability of a March cut from over 40% last week to under 20% today. In the bigger picture, longer-term rates remain squarely range-bound and MBS remain broken out the top of their comparable range thanks to GSE purchases. Econ Data / Events Continued Claims (Jan)/03 1,884K vs 1890K f'cast, 1914K prev Jobless Claims (Jan)/10 198K vs 215K f'cast, 208K prev NY Fed Manufacturing (Jan) 7.70 vs 1 f'cast, -3.90 prev Philly Fed Business Index (Jan) 12.6 vs -2 f'cast, -10.2 prev Market Movement Recap 08:31 AM First move is weaker after lower jobless claims. MBS down an eighth and 10yr up 2.5bps at 4.157 10:50 AM Lows of the day after rebounding into the 9:30am hour. MBS down 6 ticks (.19) and 10yr up 2.6bps at 4.159 01:48 PM MBS down 6 ticks (.19) and 10yr up 2.1bps at 4.153 03:15 PM Weakest levels for Treasuries with 10yr up 3.2bps at 4.164.  MBS still down 6 ticks (.19).

Source: Mortgage News Daily | 15 Jan 2026 | 9:32 pm

Mortgage Rates Higher For Some Lenders and Lower For Others

Mortgage rates moved modestly lower for the average lender today, but higher for others. The distinction is whether the lender in question made a late-day adjustment yesterday afternoon.  At the time, the underlying market for mortgage bonds was improving somewhat sharply. This prompted several lenders to drop rates before the end of business. Those lenders had to bump rates back up this morning as the bond market was in weaker territory this morning.  Other lenders--those who didn't make any changes yesterday afternoon--were able to nudge rates modestly lower today as this morning's bond market levels were a bit better than yesterday morning's.  In the bigger picture, the average lender is still very close to 3-year lows. [thirtyyearmortgagerates]

Source: Mortgage News Daily | 15 Jan 2026 | 8:25 pm

Hedging, Corresp. and Broker, Servicing, Quality Management, Fraud Prevention Products

While rumors swirl that Jerome Powell is paying his own legal bills while dealing with the DOJ, and the Administration is ruminating on using 401(k) or 529 funds to buy a home, in the land of “concrete news” the office-to-apartment and condo conversion trend is accelerating, with the number of units repurposed from office buildings more than tripling since 2022 and the conversion pipeline expanding by 28 percent between 2024 and 2025. Do you have the loan products for them? The total pipeline has now reached 70,700 units, with major metros like New York (8,310 units), Washington, D.C. (6,533 units), and Los Angeles (4,388 units) leading the way. Notably, office-to-apartment projects account for large shares of projects in places like Omaha (85 percent), Dallas (79 percent), and Minneapolis (78 percent). There is a growing shift toward repurposing newer office spaces built between the 1990s and 2010s. Office conversions now make up 42 percent of all future adaptive reuse apartments, up from 38 percent in 2024, and nearly 15 percent of office buildings nationwide are deemed viable for transformation. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by Figure. Take advantage of Figure’s technology and products like its fixed HELOC, DSCR loan, piggyback loan, and direct debt paydown, helping you serve more of your existing network and expand into new markets. Hear an interview with Worthy Performance Group’s Laura Lasher on why many lenders will fail to capitalize on a rate-driven rebound, what truly differentiates winning loan officers, how competitive dynamics have shifted toward larger institutions, which training investments genuinely improve performance, and the warning signs that signal an organization is unprepared for the next market cycle.)

Source: Mortgage News Daily | 15 Jan 2026 | 4:47 pm

Stronger Jobless Claims Leads to Early Selling

The weekly jobless claims data (not to be confused with the big monthly jobs report) is hit and miss when it comes to its propensity to move the bond market. On occasions where the results fall far from the forecast, we tend to see moderate reactions. Odds increase when the headline breaks under the psychological level of 200k.  With that, today's 198k print is having a bit of a negative impact on bonds at 8:30am, taking the market from roughly unchanged overnight levels into slightly weaker territory. A stronger Philly Fed index offered no solace.

Source: Mortgage News Daily | 15 Jan 2026 | 1:40 pm

Some Asymmetric Risk When it Comes to Locking vs Floating

Some Asymmetric Risk When it Comes to Locking vs Floating Bonds improved today mostly in response to heavy stock losses creating some safe haven buying demand. Data wasn't heavily traded, but it didn't do any harm. Producer Prices were mixed, with an upward revision in September being offset by lower-than-expected inflation in November. Retail Sales (also November data) beat at the headline, but the control group (excludes autos/gas/building materials) was in line with estimates and October's number was revised lower. Despite the bond gains, mortgage rates were unchanged. This offers a potential clue about lenders being resistant to the notion of offering meaningful improvements from current levels in the short term. Econ Data / Events Core Producer Prices MM (Nov) 0.0% vs 0.2% f'cast Core Producer Prices MM (Oct) 0.3% vs 0.1% prev PPI YoY (Nov) 3% vs 2.7% f'cast PPI YoY (Oct) 2.8% vs 2.7% prev Producer Prices (Nov) 0.2% vs 0.2% f'cast, 0.1% prev Producer Prices (Oct) 0.1% vs 0.3% prev Retail Sales (Nov) 0.6% vs 0.4% f'cast, 0% prev Retail Sales Control Group MoM (Nov) 0.4% vs 0.4% f'cast, 0.8% prev Market Movement Recap 09:11 AM No major reaction to AM econ data. MBS up 1 tick (.03) and 10yr down 1.6bps at 4.165 11:23 AM Best levels of the day with MBS up 5 ticks (.16) and 10yr down 4.2bps at 4.138 01:58 PM Little changed from last update. MBS up 5 ticks (.16) and 10yr down 4.7bps at 4.133

Source: Mortgage News Daily | 14 Jan 2026 | 8:57 pm