Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s weekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it each Friday afternoon.
- Will they stay, or will they go? That’s the question likely weighing on Rocket Mortgage employees after parent company Rocket Companies Inc. offered buyouts to teams throughout the company. According to Mike Malloy, chief administrative officer of Rocket Central, the buyouts are meant to “better align resources with the needs of both our business and today’s mortgage market.” Those who accept the buyout would have their last day on August 11.
- Mortgage rates declined this week, breaking a three-week upward trend, according to the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® from Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate averaged 6.78%, falling from 6.96% the week prior, which Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater claimed to be tied to slowing inflation.
- Cooling inflation and dipping mortgage rates have been a boon for mortgage applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Recent MBA data shows that the volume of applications increased 1.1%, continuing the trend of last week’s 0.9% increase. “Mortgage rates declined last week, as markets responded positively to incoming data showing that U.S. inflation continues to cool,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist.
- Progress made in the labor market has paid off for borrowers as the number of mortgages in forbearance declined slightly. New data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) shows that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by five basis points in June, from 0.49% to 0.44%. “The employment situation tracks with homeowners’ ability to make mortgage payments,” said MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh.
