Fannie Mae put out its November policy package yesterday, and two pieces of it reach your pipeline directly. Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2026-10 extends VantageScore 4.0 to manually underwritten loans and to loan casefiles underwritten through DU Version 12.1, allows accessory dwelling units in condo projects, clarifies the owner-occupancy policy, reorganizes the Community Seconds and grants content, and updates premium recapture for whole loans. Alongside it, Lender Letter LL-2026-09 rewrites the Eligibility Matrix for manually underwritten loans sold to Fannie on or after February 22, 2027: minimum credit scores line up for fixed and adjustable loans, two- to four-unit principal residences and cash-out refinances get consistent score and reserve requirements, and every manual underwriting rule, HomeReady and HomeStyle included, now sits in one matrix.
Yesterday's brief led with the Senate result and a 30-year at 7.23%. Bankrate's 30-year fixed closed Wednesday at 7.22% and holds there this morning, the low of its 30-day window. Mortgage News Daily described Wednesday's bond session as modest gains with two-way volatility as markets digested the election and the day's data.
The demand side has not followed rates down yet. HousingWire reports MBA mortgage applications fell 1.2% last week, purchase applications fell 4%, and the ARM share rose to 11.4%; Scotsman Guide notes that came in a third straight week of easing rates. The lenders are feeling it differently. UWM swung to $212.6 million of third-quarter net income after a $451.9 million loss the quarter before, even as loan production and gain-on-sale margins slipped, per National Mortgage Professional, and HousingWire credits the Oaktree deal and MSR sales for its deleveraging. Mat Ishbia told National Mortgage News UWM will hold fourth-quarter gain on sale at 115 to 130 basis points while some wholesale rivals have dropped to 70 to 80 to win loans. Two reads on the same quarter: a balance-sheet repair story at HousingWire, a pricing-war story at NMN.
On rates, Bankrate's 30-year at 7.22% is down from 7.31% a week ago and 0.35 point under its October 12 high of 7.57%. The 10-year Treasury sits at 4.90%, unchanged from Wednesday's close and down from 5.05% a week ago. Freddie Mac's PMMS publishes today after last printing 7.24% on October 29, and jobless claims are out this morning. The bigger test is Friday's October jobs report: September's payroll gain was 29,000 with unemployment at 4.2%. MPA reports October's ADP private payroll report beat forecasts, with job-changers' wage growth at its fastest pace since March 2024, and Scotsman Guide frames Friday's number as the check on how ready the Fed is to move again at its December 8–9 meeting, which brings a new dot plot. CPI follows in the November 10–15 window.
Elsewhere: HousingWire reports Florida voters passed a property tax break with 62% of the vote despite estimates of nearly $5 billion in local revenue losses in 2027–28, a change worth knowing for escrow conversations with Florida buyers. Zillow's third quarter brought a 7% revenue gain to $724 million, a $158 million net loss and average monthly unique users of 215 million, and it is pushing its Preferred agent program toward 100% of buyer connections. National Mortgage News looks at how the midterm results may shape follow-up on the housing bill and GSE reform once the new Congress sits.
pull every manually underwritten file in your pipeline, including any HomeReady or HomeStyle loan, and check it against the new single Eligibility Matrix so no loan that will be sold to Fannie on or after February 22 is caught by the change.