Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon.
- As of Nov. 20, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate sat at 6.26%, slightly up from the previous week’s reading of 6.24%. Tracking with higher rates, mortgage applications—tracked by the Mortgage Bankers Association—found that mortgage applications dipped, on a seasonally adjusted basis, week-over-week by 5.2% during the week of Nov. 19.
- The latest Foreclosure Market Report from ATTOM found that foreclosure activity rose for the eighth-straight month in 2025, with a total of 36,766 properties found to have foreclosure filings in October (one in every 3,871 housing units). Foreclosure starts grew 3% month-over-month with filings started on 25,129 properties, a 19% year-over-year increase. Completed foreclosures grew 2% month-over-month with 3,872 properties repossessed, 32% leap year-over-year. “Even with these increases, activity remains well below historic highs,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “The current trend appears to reflect a gradual normalization in foreclosure volumes as market conditions adjust and some homeowners continue to navigate higher housing and borrowing costs.”
- The Trump administration, including the president himself and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, have floated the idea of a 50 year mortgage. The idea has been met with some, though not universal, skepticism, including from Republican lawmakers. A primary point of concern is whether this would actually lower mortgage costs in the long run, as while a 50-year loan could lead to smaller monthly payment, it would also give interest on the loan more time to accumulate.
- The Trump administration has claimed before that it plans to end the government conservatorship of government-sponsored entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, in a reversal of this, Pulte said the GSEs will likely remain in conservatorship during a public appearance on Nov. 7. According to Pulte’s comments, the president is currently considering a “limited” initial public offering (IPO) on the GSEs for private investors.
- Freddie Mac has announced next-generation automation technology to streamline and strengthen its single-family (homes) quality control (QC) process. Quality Control Advisor Plus® will further enhance loan quality, drive efficiency and lower costs through technology that automates the quality control review and remedy process on delivered loans. The new platform is an integrated solution that unifies previously separate QC systems and will be available to all lenders by year-end. This solution is designed to deliver more consistent decision making and standardized communication through newly implemented messaging that aligns with industry standards so lenders can expect reliable, consistent feedback. Lenders can also now upload as many as 250 files at once and receive immediate confirmation of receipt, eliminating guesswork and delays.
- It has been reported that the Department of Justice has launched an investigation into another investigation over Senator Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James’ alleged mortgage fraud. Schiff and James, political enemies of the president, were accused by the Trump administration of this supposed fraud. At the center of the DOJ’s investigation is the possibility that people have impersonated federal officials to acquire evidence on Schiff and James. A witness against Schiff was Christine Bish, a California real estate agent who is running for congress as a Republican. Bish has now been subpoenaed and questioned by the DOJ investigation to answer if there was “collusion” between her, Bill Pulte and DOJ official Ed Martin.
- Several large mortgage lenders—including Wells Fargo Bank, PHH Mortgage, Delta Funding Corporation and mortgage brokers McGlawn & McGlawn, Inc.—are named as defendants in a new lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania couple who claim they were misled on fees, variable interest rates and hidden penalties of their $26,400 mortgage, where the balance remains $21,000 despite having paid $70,000 to PHH mortgage over two decades. The plaintiffs further claimed they were “targeted” as a low-income African American family and their situation is part of a pattern of behavior in offering high-fee loans by the defendants.
