Top news articles for financial advisors and personal finance
Week of 10/3
This week's recap focuses on dip in mortgage rates, mortgage applications and home prices, and opportunities for borrowers after student debt relief.
Mortgage rates dip slightly to 6.66%, but have doubled from a year ago (Aarthi Swaminathan, MarketWatch)
This week the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped slightly to 6.66% compared to 6.7% last week. These higher rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have resulted in increased interest in adjustable-rate mortgages. Read more about the trends observed this week for different types of mortgages.
Mortgage applications fall to the lowest pace in 25 years, as interest rates nearing 7% spook buyers (Aarthi Swaminathan, MarketWatch)
Mortgage applications have dropped to their lowest levels this week since 1997 driven by high mortgage rates and the devastation brought on by Hurricane Ian. However, this large drop is expected to partly recover as some of the drop was caused by the closures and evacuations from the Hurricane. Read more about other trends observed such as the 86% drop in the refinance index compared to a year ago.
High mortgage rates, tight supply and economic uncertainty: Here’s what’s happening with home prices (Diana Olick, CNBC)
While Black Knight reported a second month of month-over-month declines in home prices in August, the prices of homes are still up more than 13.5% this year in August compared to last year. While we are seeing a cooling off of home prices in some markets, read more about why high home prices are expected to hold in the coming months.
Fed Headed For 4.5%-4.75% Interest Rate By Early 2023, Evans Says (Matthew Boesler, Financial Advisor Magazine)
Despite the Fed signaling that they would continue to increase rates, Chicago Fed President Charles Ecans expects that the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate will drop to between 4.5% and 4.75% by next spring. Read more about why Evans believes this drop will occur.
How Americans are preparing for life without student debt (Ella Ceron and Claire Bellntine, Financial Planning)
With student loan forgiveness coming to effect in a few months, those who owe debt are seeing possibilities that have opened up to them once their debts disappear. In fact, studies have found that those who had student loans forgiven were observed to be more mobile, both geographically and financially, and took more risks in their careers than their peers who did not have their loans forgiven. Read more about the opportunities such as homeownership that are opening up for borrowers.
