Mortgage rates drop to lowest level in nearly 3 years as Trump orders buying of $200 billion in mortgage bonds
Mortgage rates fell sharply on Friday, a day after President Donald Trump said on social media that he is instructing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds. "This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable," he said in the Truth Social post. The rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped 22 basis points to 5.99%, matching the low from Feb. 2, 2023, according to Mortgage News Daily.
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Compass Acquires Top Rival, Creating World's Largest Brokerage
Compass Inc. announced on Friday the completion of its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate for $1.6 billion, making it far and away the world's largest real estate brokerage. The all-stock merger, which was approved by shareholders of both firms on Wednesday after clearing regulatory hurdles, values the combined companies at roughly $10 billion and stretches Compass's influence around the globe.
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First Liberty Title Company acquires Superior Title of Cleveland, Texas
First Liberty Title Company (First Liberty Title), a wholly owned subsidiary of First Liberty National Bancshares, Inc. (FLNBI), on Thursday, Jan. 8, announced the acquisition of the assets of Superior Title Company, Inc. (Superior Title), a respected title company serving the Cleveland and surrounding areas.
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Why mortgage rates are stuck at 6.2% - and might stay there
For weeks now, mortgage rates have barely budged. There's a good chance they won't move much in the new year either. Mortgage rates have hovered in a remarkably narrow range of 6.2% to 6.3%, roughly year-to-date lows, since mid-September. Those levels have been enticing enough to spark some gains in refinancing activity and homebuying in the fall, but are still elevated enough to keep many aspiring buyers priced out of the market.
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Compass-Anywhere brokerage deal would hurt homebuyers, US Senators say
U.S. antitrust enforcers should consider blocking a bid by Compass, opens new tab, the nation's largest residential real estate broker, to acquire rival Anywhere Real Estate, opens new tab, amid a housing shortage, two Democratic U.S. Senators said. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon said in a letter to antitrust officials at the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday that the deal could contribute to high broker fees and limit access to home listings, hurting homebuyers who already face high costs.
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