Weekly Housing Headlines

Mortgage applications increased 0.6% from one week earlier; total mortgage rate lock volume fell 4% month over month; new foreclosures jumped 20% in October, a sign of more distress in the housing market; the average rate on 30-year fixed home loans rose to 6.24% for the week ending Nov. 13, up from 6.22% the week before; mortgage fraud risk increased by 8.2% year over year – however, it dropped by 2.7% from the previous quarter; and the housing market is set for slow, steady gains in 2026, according to First American.

Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage Bankers Association - 11/12/2025
Mortgage applications increased 0.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 7, 2025.

Cash-out refinances boost October mortgage volume
Scotsman Guide - 11/12/2025
Total mortgage rate lock volume fell 4% month over month, according to the latest Market Advantage report from Optimal Blue. Purchase rate locks declined 1.5% from September and rate-and-term refinances dipped 14%.

New foreclosures jump 20% in October, a sign of more distress in the housing market
CNBC - 11/13/2025
Foreclosure starts, which are the initial phase of the process, rose 6% for the month and were 20% higher than the year before. Competed foreclosures, the final phase, were up 32% year-over-year.

Mortgage Interest Rates Today: Mortgage Rates Tick up to 6.24% as Markets Assess End of Shutdown
Realtor.com - 11/13/2025
The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans rose to 6.24% for the week ending Nov. 13, up from 6.22% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. Rates averaged 6.78% during the same period in 2024.

Mortgage fraud risk rises as prices drop
Cotality - 11/13/2025
Mortgage fraud risk increased by 8.2% year over year; however, it dropped by 2.7% from the previous quarter. An estimated 1 in 118 mortgage applications have indications of fraud.

Housing market set for slow, steady gains in 2026, says First American
Mortgage Professional America - 11/13/2025
According to First American deputy chief economist Odeta Kushi, “mortgage rates [will hold] in the low 6% range, but we could see movements lower from today’s levels toward six.”

Most Americans doubt they’ll ever own their dream home, survey finds
Mortgage Professional America - 11/12/2025
While 66% said they’d feel more confident living in their ideal property, 53% admitted they don’t expect to ever achieve it. Only 28% said they could afford their dream home today, and fewer than half think they’ll ever get there.

Will A Frozen Real Estate Market Finally Thaw in 2026?
Financial Advisor - 11/7/2025
Home sales have fallen to three-decade lows, affordability remains stretched and a meaningful thaw may still be five to six years away, Chen Zhao, head of economic research at Redfin, told attendees at a conference in Denver.

October Home Prices Tank in Florida, Texas Cities
The Mortgage Reports - 11/11/2025
Home prices rose 0.9% year-over-year in October, according to Intercontinental Exchange. But that ranged by over 17 percentage points among the 100 largest U.S. metro areas.

K-shaped housing market locks out first-time buyers
Scotsman Guide - 11/11/2025
A crowd is forming at the foot of the U.S. housing ladder, as once-in-a-generation equity gains being banked by repeat buyers inadvertently stifle homebuying access for the next.