Rates finally moved off the spot they held all last week. Bankrate's 30-year fixed reads 7.26% this morning, down from 7.28% after five straight readings at that level, and the 10-year Treasury is trading near 4.92%. On a $400,000 loan, 7.26% is about $2,731 a month in principal and interest, roughly $6 less than at 7.28%. The government-backed products moved with it: Bankrate has FHA at 7.13% and VA at 7.01%, both a touch lower than yesterday, while the jumbo 30-year sits at 7.41%. Freddie Mac's PMMS, a different weekly survey, printed 7.24% last Thursday and updates again this Thursday, November 5.
Monday's market was calmer than the headlines around it. Mortgage News Daily's close described bonds as barely stronger by 4pm ET despite a large drop in oil and tech stocks, and noted Treasury yields have stopped tracking tech stocks the way they had been since Friday's open. Redfin's weekly rate note says rates have come down from their late-September peak and that it sees little reason to expect the volatility to slow. Today is Election Day; National Mortgage Professional points out that several mortgage policy changes that could matter in 2027, including work on refinancing costs, are already underway regardless of which party controls Congress.
The payment side of affordability went the other way in September. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Purchase Applications Payment Index, released last Thursday, put the median principal-and-interest payment for purchase applicants at $2,215, up from $2,162 in August, as reported by National Mortgage Professional and The MortgagePoint. That is the August-to-September stretch when rates were climbing toward their peak, so today's lower level has not shown up in that series yet.
On the lending side, eLEND is lowering minimum credit scores on select FHA cash-out refinances and conventional loans through the end of the year, with National Mortgage Professional reporting floors as low as 500 on FHA cash-out. HousingWire reports the limited-time CreditEdge locks must be in place by the end of 2026 and need an AUS approval. Appraisers are pushing back on part of UAD 3.6: HousingWire reports that Certification 25 in the new report expands who can store, analyze and distribute appraisal data, including interior photos. Wells Fargo will hold customers liable for an AI agent's account activity starting November 24 unless they can show they revoked the agent's access, according to National Mortgage News. And a RETR analysis reported by HousingWire found 3,729 name matches between licensed agents and loan officers, 40% of them in California.
The calendar from here: Treasury's quarterly refunding is Wednesday, November 4. Weekly jobless claims and the next PMMS land Thursday, November 5, and the October jobs report arrives Friday, November 6; the September report showed payrolls up 29,000 and unemployment at 4.2%. Feedback on FHA's draft Minimum Property Requirements and the CSBS SAFE MLO test job analysis survey both close Friday as well. The CPI window runs November 10 through 15, and the next FOMC meeting is December 8-9 and carries a dot plot.
re-quote every borrower who stalled at 7.28% last week at today's 7.26%, and send them the new monthly payment before Friday's jobs report has a chance to move it.