"We may still see the 30-year dip back below 6%, but a refinance rally feels farther away than it did a month ago," said Eric Orenstein, a senior director at Fitch Ratings.
Due to accounting rules, earnings from the loans locked during the third quarter of 2025 were recognized in the third quarter rather than the fourth quarter.
“Mortgage rates continued to move higher, driven by increasing Treasury yields as the conflict in the Middle East kept oil prices elevated, along with the risk of a broader inflationary shock,” said Joel Kan, a vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA.
The National Consumer Law Center predicted that implementing the mortgage-focused order will “re-ignite the market conditions” that led to the financial crisis of 2008.