In this weekly market update, Jordan Keck provides a concise briefing on recent mortgage‑related developments. He opens with the latest movement in mortgage rates, noting a dip from 7.09% to 6.92% and a Federal Reserve overnight rate cut, while emphasizing that Fed moves do not directly set mortgage rates. Keck then explains the FHA “flip rule,” detailing the 90‑day resale restriction, the double‑price appraisal requirement for offers made between days 91‑180, and the need to restart contracts after the waiting period. He follows with good news from the FHFA: appraisal waivers for conventional loans now allow up to 90% loan‑to‑value (10% down) for eligible owner‑occupied single‑family homes, while reminding viewers that eligibility is case‑by‑case and that VA/FHA loans are excluded. Keck clarifies the distinction between Fed policy (affecting short‑term credit) and mortgage rates (driven by mortgage‑backed securities). He then shares labor‑market data—initial jobless claims rising to 221,000 and continuing claims to 1.892 million—interpreting the stability of initial claims and the concern over elevated continuing claims. Mortgage‑application activity is reviewed: purchase applications fell 5% and refinance applications fell 19% week‑over‑week, though both are up year‑over‑year, with rates averaging 6.81% per the Mortgage Bankers Association. Keck reports CoreLogic’s September Home Price Index, showing a modest 0.02% monthly increase (below expectations) and a 3.4% year‑over‑year rise, indicating slowing but still positive appreciation. He advises buyers to consider the incremental equity gain and to act rather than wait, given the protective effect of locked‑in rates. Finally, he reminds listeners of upcoming holiday closures (Monday holiday, Thanksgiving week) and invites them to reach out for assistance. The overall tone is conversational, supportive, and cautiously optimistic, aimed at home‑buyers, agents, and mortgage clients.
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Good morning and happy Friday. Jordan Keck here, your lender buddy, with your weekly market update. Kicking things off, interest rates finally heading down for the first time in a while, from 7.09% last week to 6.92% this week. Luckily, election is out of the way. Federal Reserve ends up cutting interest rates today for overnight rates. Both of those things helpful in getting a little bit of stability, longer-term trends still to be revealed, but step in the right direction. Starting off though with our mortgage tip this week, wanting to talk about the FHA flip rule. So FHA is the only program that has a flip rule. And what that means is essentially you have to wait at least 90 days from the date the property was last sold. So the recording date of the current property until you can even write an offer on that property. This 90 days isn't going to be based on the closing date of the new one, it's from the closing date of the previous sale to the offer date of the new one. With that, if you wanted to get under contract in the meantime and just wait to start things until after, you can, but just know you have to redo that contract. So you have to cancel the first one in full and start a brand new contract after that 90-day mark. Then from there, if this being sold and you have an offer between 91 and 180 days, The rule is that if the property is selling for twice or more the previous value, for example, if it previously sold for $100,000 and now it's being sold for $200,000 or more, then between that 91 and 180-day window, you'd be required to have two appraisals ordered to verify the value. So if it's slightly less than that, if it's $199,000, so not quite double the value, you don't need that second appraisal, or if it's after 180 days. So if it's day 181, when you have that offer submitted from the last time that it's recorded and sold, you don't have to worry about that either. So if you have any questions on this, let me know. Always happy to help and be a resource for you, whether I'm on the deal or not. Next up, also good news from FHFA, which governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. They have increased the maximum loan-to-value for appraisal waivers. Previously, it had to be a maximum loan-to-value of up to 80%, so you needed 20% down. Now with 90% loan-to-value, so 10% down, there are some eligible appraisal waivers for owner-occupied single-family homes. So this is great news on it. A reminder on the requirements for an appraisal waiver, this is going to be case by case depending on the property, depending on the value, and depending on the client. So it's not going to be a situation where one property gets it and then all clients will have that ability, or will one client will have that ability across any spectrum. Sometimes having an appraisal waiver isn't just about the amount of down payment either. I've had times where somebody is putting 50% down, still not gets an appraisal waiver because that particular property didn't have enough data available for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to issue a waiver. But hopefully this will help relieve some of that appraisal pressure. And give more opportunities for clients with at least 10% down to get those appraisal waivers. Only way to find out for sure if you get one is to have the address identified, an offer price, the client's application pre-approval ready to go, and then submit it through automated underwriting. Automated underwriting will tell you whether or not you get that. So as always, one of the things that I can offer is checking for that before you submit an offer. So that way we know if we have it and if you want to write it into the the offer. As a reminder, VA and FHA are not eligible for appraisal waivers, just conventional. Next up, the Federal Reserve ended up cutting their overnight bank interest rates by a quarter of a percent, pretty much as expected here. There was a little bit of speculation maybe they hold it, especially in light of some of the stronger data that's come out since the last time they cut rates. But this time it was unanimous, every single member of the Fed voting to lower interest rates by another quarter of a percent, adding on to the half a percent they lowered it at their last meeting. So with this, just a thing to remember that them cutting their overnight rates does not mean that it cuts mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are going to be independent of them. They'll take influence similar to a stock market looking at news for a particular company, but ultimately it's not directly tied to the Federal Reserve rates. Federal Reserve rates are going to be directly tied to things like credit cards, car loans, and HELOCs. which are more short-term debt. But again, mortgages not going to be tied to that. They're going to be more based on mortgage-backed securities, which trade just like the stock market and can change day to day. Next up, initial jobless claims for the last week rose 3,000 to 221,000 initial first-time filings, and continuing claims rose 39,000 to 1,892,000. While initial claims are still fairly stable right now, you know, not huge, not super low, just kind of stable. The continuing claims is more of the concern, as we're seeing elevated amounts there as companies are hiring less and workers are having harder times finding jobs when they get laid off or when they leave their current jobs. Next, mortgage applications fell 5% for purchases last week, and refinances fell 19%. Purchases are now up 2% year over year, purchase applications. And refinances up 48% year over year. This is after being up almost over 200% when rates were lower, and of course that drop-off due to interest rates creeping higher over the last month. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported average rates for the week at 6.81%, after rising from 6.73% the prior week. And if we do see continued dropping in interest rates moving forward, expect both purchases and refinance activity to kick up as And lastly here, CoreLogic's Home Price Index report for the month of September showed home prices increasing 0.02%. This is below estimates of 0.1%. And so showing that appreciation is clearly slowing down here, not going negative. And home prices are still up 3.4% year over year, just down from the 3.9% we saw in the previous report. So remember, accelerate— the appreciation is not going backwards. Just slowing down. Because put it in perspective, a 3.5% increase or 3.4% increase in a $400,000 home means you gain about $14,000 in value over the prior 12 months. So for someone looking to buy, expect that adds about another $100 a month onto your payments. If that's the home that you're in, that's over $1,000 a month of benefit you gained in that home at that rate. So make sure you're still talking to your clients. Hey, if you like the payment, if you like the house, go ahead and get into it, get it locked in. Your value is going to continue to increase. If rates drop down, you can refinance, and if they go up, you're already protected. So a lot more to lose by waiting than you have to getting into the market. And a final reminder, remember that Monday is a holiday, so no closings, no right of rescission for that. Also be available as always, so if you need me, give me a call. And then last one, Thanksgiving near the end of the month, that's going to be Thursday the 28th. And then plan on Friday the 29th kind of being an unofficial holiday, so expect some early closures and probably not a whole lot going on that day throughout the industry. As always, hopefully this is helpful. Have a fantastic weekend. We'll see you next time. Take care.
