News about Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae sharply raised its forecast for the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, now seeing about 7.4% in Q4 2026 and around 7.5% through 2027, up from 6.8% and 6.7% previously. The author argues the low pandemic-era rates were an anomaly created by extraordinary Federal Reserve intervention, and current rates reflect 3.7% inflation, over $40 trillion in federal debt and rising Treasury yields. On a $350,000 mortgage, the monthly principal and interest payment would be about $2,447 at 7.5% versus about $1,476 at 3%, nearly $1,000 more. Pending home sales fell 8.5% in September from a year earlier, a sign of affordability strain that the author says will force the housing market to adjust to the price of money.