Mortgage payments ease for fourth month

Plus: OceanFirst cuts 114 jobs, exits mortgage business

September 26, 2025

🦋 We made it to Friday! Today’s newsletter is 599 words, a 2.5-minute read.

Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of September 25, 2025. © MND Daily Rate Index.

1. OceanFirst cuts 114 jobs, exits mortgage business

OceanFirst Bank is shutting down its residential mortgage origination arm, cutting 114 jobs, and shifting customers to Embrace Home Loans.

OceanFirst, which originated $870 million in mortgages over the past year, said it will focus on commercial banking instead. Embrace, a larger lender with $1.73 billion in originations, will take over residential loan offerings for OceanFirst clients starting in Q4 2025.

The exit comes just months after OceanFirst acquired Garden State Home Loans and settled a $15 million redlining case with HUD and the DOJ. The bank said affected employees will receive severance and career transition support.

2. Mortgage payments ease for fourth month

Homebuyer affordability improved in August as the national median purchase mortgage payment slipped to $2,100, down $27 from July, according to the MBA. The decline marked the fourth straight month of relief for buyers.

The MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index dropped 1.2%, reflecting stronger affordability as incomes rose 3.2% year-over-year. Despite a 2.1% annual increase in payments, income growth offset costs, boosting buyers’ purchasing power.

Regional gaps remain stark. Idaho, Nevada and Arizona recorded the highest payment burdens, while Alaska, Louisiana and D.C. ranked lowest. Affordability improved across Black, Hispanic and white households alike.

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3. More Nuggets

🚪 Flyhomes to exit real estate brokerage, focus on wholesale lending. (GeekWire)

⚖️ loanDepot challenges class-action suit tied to LO comp rules, steering. (HousingWire)

🏘️ The housing market could see 500,000 more sales next year as mortgage rates fall below a key level. (BusinessInsider)

💰 Compass-Anywhere deal brings $9B mortgage JVs under one roof. (smry)

4. New home sales surge in August to a 3-year high

Sales of new single-family homes rose 20.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800,000 units last month, government estimates showed Wednesday. The August rate was up 15 percent YoY and the highest level since January 2022.

  • Two main factors appear to be behind the surge: slightly lower borrowing costs and aggressive sales incentives from builders.

New home sales were strongest in the Northeast, where overall new construction is low, so swings can be large. It was also strong in the South, where homebuilding is busiest. Sales, while higher, were weakest in the West, where prices are highest.

“We were expecting a gain but not that large,” said Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders. “Always important to remember the margin of error for new home sales is large. We’ll need to wait for revisions next month and the September data point to see if this is smoothed out.”

5. Existing home sales stall in August

Sales of previously owned homes were essentially flat in August, coming in 4 million units on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to the NAR. That is a 0.2% drop from July and an increase of 1.8% YoY.

The upper end of the market is moving better than the lower end. Sales of homes priced above $1 million gained 8% year over year, the top performer. Sales of homes priced below $100,000, however, dropped more than 10% from a year ago.

“Record-high housing wealth and a record-high stock market will help current homeowners trade up and benefit the upper end of the market. However, sales of affordable homes are constrained by the lack of inventory,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR, in a release.

☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Monday!

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