- After nine consecutive weeks of decline, mortgage rates increased by four basis points according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey released September 25. However, the recent decline in interest rates has spurred housing market activity, as it continues to hold up, with purchase and refinance applications increasing by 18% and 42%, respectively, compared to the same time last year.
- Mortgage applications increased 0.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 19. “Mortgage rates declined further last week, with the 30-year fixed rate falling to its lowest level since last September. Interest rates have generally moved up following the FOMC meeting last week, but remain within a range that should continue to lead to increased refinance activity. Refinance volume increased further last week and is now 80 percent higher than four weeks ago, accounting for more than 60 percent of all application activity,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and Chief Economist. “The refinance boost last week was from government applications, with VA refinance volume up almost 15 percent. While homebuyer demand typically tends to decrease during the fall, purchase application activity remains relatively strong right now, running 18 percent ahead of last year’s pace.”
- Gross Domestic Product, the broadest measure of economic output, rose at an annualized rate of 3.8% from April through June, the Commerce Department said Thursday in its third and final estimate. That’s significantly higher than the 3.3% rate reported in the second estimate, and well above the 3% initially reported. GDP was revised higher largely due to new additional data on consumer spending. Personal consumption expenditures rose at an annualized pace of 2.5% in the second quarter, according to the third estimate, up sharply from the second estimate’s 1.6%. According to Bret Kenwell, US investment analyst at investing platform eToro, “This year’s economic data, especially over the past few months, has been noisy, and economic policy uncertainty has remained elevated throughout 2025. With so many moving parts in the GDP report, it’s not surprising that larger-than-expected revisions are showing up, particularly in a year marked by heightened volatility and mixed signals.”
- Initial jobless claims fell by 14,000 to 218,000 in the week ending September 20, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the lowest level since mid-July. Claims have been volatile in recent weeks, spiking by 28,000 to a nearly four-year high of 264,000 earlier this month. That raised some concerns that layoffs were rising. But claims have fallen by 46,000 in the past two weeks. Another sign that the labor market is not weakening is that the number of new claims based on actual filings, before seasonal adjustments, fell by 14,822, to 180,611, in the latest week. That’s the lowest level in two years. The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits in the week of September 13 fell by 2.000 to 1.926 million. These continuing claims showed that it’s harder for laid-off workers to find new employment. “Today’s report refutes any theories that layoffs have suddenly taken off. It also undermines calls for more and bigger rate cuts, both at the Fed and in the market,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics.
