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.
–At the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) annual Capital & Secondary Markets Conference in New York City Tuesday, MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit characterized the removal of GSEs (Fannie and Freddie) as a “case for optimism” and a low priority for the Trump administration, but the idea reentered the spotlight just two days later following a Truth Social post by Trump that said he was “giving very serious consideration” to taking the government sponsored entities (GSEs) public. Trump said he will be speaking with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), William Pulte, among others, to discuss the idea, which he’s been in favor of since his first administration, although he did not specify a date for the meeting.
-Redfin reported this week that according to its analysis of MLS pending-sales data, U.S. home purchases were canceled at the second highest April rate on record. Roughly 56,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in April, or 14.3% of homes that went under contract during the month. Redfin says that’s up 13.5% from April last year. Of the 10 metros with the highest cancellation rates, five are in Florida and two are in Texas. The lowest cancellation rate was in Nassau County, New York, Redfin reported. Homebuyers cite economic uncertainty, higher inventory and high prices as reasons for backing out of deals.
-Fannie Mae revised its most recent Economic and Housing Outlook this month to forecast some positive projections for the housing market in 2025 and 2026. In its latest assessment of the market, the mortgage giant predicted 6.1% rates by the end of the year and a smaller decrease to 5.8% by the end of 2026. Their outlook is far lower than other major housing organizations—the Mortgage Bankers Association currently anticipates rates at 6.6% in Q4 2025, and the National Association of REALTORS® predicting 6.4%.
-Fannie Mae’s home sales outlook for 2025 was also revised to reflect a rosier expectation—they’re seeing 4.92 million home sales this year, up from their previous prediction of 4.86 million. They’re also projecting mortgage originations to rise to $1.99 trillion and $2.38 trillion, respectively, for 2025 and 2026, compared to its previous forecast of $1.98 trillion and $2.33 trillion, respectively.
–Ramifications from the U.S. credit downgrade this past week affected the average 30-year mortgage rate and home-purchase applications economists reported. Purchase applications were down over 5% from the previous week, and the average rate ticked up five basis points, from 6.81% to 6.86% this week. “Since mortgage rates closely track the 10-year yield, this upward pressure has translated into increased borrowing costs for homebuyers, which means higher mortgage rates,” said Realtor.com® Economist Jiayi Xu, but added increased inventory, stable prices and longer days on market are easing some of the pressure.
-The National Association of REALTORS® lauded the passing of the “Big Beautiful Bill” in the House of Representatives this week, which included the advocacy group’s top five tax priorities, including an enhanced small business tax deduction, a strengthened state and local tax deduction, and protections for the mortgage interest deduction. MBA President Broeksmit also offered cautious approval saying, “MBA looks forward to engaging with the Senate on possible improvements to this House-passed reconciliation baseline as changes are considered and crafted. We will continue to advocate for our industry’s tax priorities throughout the debate this summer.” The bill now moves to the Senate, where it may face further revisions before being approved.
