Home Price Gains Don't Help Everyone; Mortgage Profits Plummet; New Home Sales Edge Lower

Mortgage rates have increased 49 basis points since the first of the year, with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) standing at 4.44 percent on March 15 according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Given the robust economic fundamentals, Freddie Mac's economists expect the Federal Reserve to continue tightening short-term rates and long-term rates, including those for mortgages, should follow them higher, they predict to 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of this year. Writing in Freddie Mac's Outlook blog, Len Kiefer, the company's Deputy Chief Economist says, even with higher interest rates, his team expects that the housing market will post modest growth this year. The spring market looks like it will be a sellers' market in much of the country because of tight inventories

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2018/3/23/3283