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.
- After dipping below 6% in previous weeks, mortgage rates rose to 6.11% as of the week of March 13. National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Principal Economist and Director of Real Estate Research Nadia Evangelou attributed this expected rise to geopolitical conflict, such as the U.S./Iran war, and an increase in 10-year U.S. treasury yields.
- The Iran War, and subsequent bump in oil prices, has also been more widely attributed to mortgage rates declining alongside the stock market taking a toil. “High oil prices are not good for mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun also noted.
- Despite the recent rise in rates, existing-home sales posted an increase, indicating buyers are responding to the recent decline in rates.
- A recent study by Harvard examined how high mortgage rates in recent years did not, contrary to what one might expect, lead to home price declines as many sellers succumbed to “rate-lock effect,” or not listing their home due to a desire to keep a lower mortgage rate.
- The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act has passed the United States Senate, but has drawn mixed responses from the mortgage industry. Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President Bob Broeksmit praised provisions to boost housing supply and expand small dollar mortgage lending, but criticized a provision that would limit institutional investors in the single-family home market, claiming this would “further limit financing for build-for and built-to-rent housing communities.”
- A new study from Redfin found that about one in five mortgage holders could save money by refinancing their mortgage, the highest share in the last four years. Despite that, just 9.1% of homeowners who could save money have actually refinanced as of Q1 2026, and only 1.8% of total homeowners have refinanced. Redfin’s research indicates homeowners might be holding off on refinancing due to waiting for even lower mortgage rates, concerns about closing costs and fees or simple unawareness of refinancing options and benefits.
- Despite this, mortgage originations reached a 3.5-year peak in Q4 2025, explicitly due to a boost in refinancing spurred by lower mortgage rates.
- Mortgage lender loanDepot and CEO Anthony Hsieh also projected, in its Q4 2025 earnings report, that refinancing will drive an increase in mortgage originations moving forward.
- In its quarterly results for Q4 2025, loanDepot grew market share by 19% and delivered a loan origination volume increase of 23%, its highest quarterly volume since 2022. The company’s revenue increased 12% to $1.19 billion, with adjusted revenue increasing 10% to $1.21 billion. The company posted a decreased net loss of $108 million, down 47% from Q4 2024. Adjusted EBITDA increased annually by 46% to $122 million.
- In January 2026, President Trump directed government-sponsored enterprises Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities. As of March 2026, both Fannie and Freddie’s total loan and MBS holdings have reached $278.5 billion, up from $271.69 billion in January and with the highest number of MBS holdings in at least a year.
- The House Financial Services Committee voted to pass a regulatory package designed to increase capital access for community banks. “This bill simplifies outdated regulatory requirements that have crippled our community banks and local lenders over the past few decades, giving them the flexibility they need to get back to lending in our communities throughout the country, ensuring that small businesses and potential homebuyers have the financing they need to prosper,” said Committee Chair French Hill (R-AR). Fed Chairman Michelle Bowman has recently said she intends to revise capital frameworks to relieve oversight on community banks and spur them to reenter the mortgage lending market as well.
- Ohio-based CrossCountry Mortgage announced a significant investment in a program focused on builders, which the company called a “strategic expansion” of relationships with homebuilders and buyers who are interested in new homes. In a release, the company claimed that it will be able to offer “comprehensive” solutions both in and outside of residential, with the aim of opening up more opportunities for borrowers. The focus on new builds has recent parallels in the residential brokerage market, as eXp Realty recently announced a program meant to “bridge the gap” between real estate agents and “the development world.”
