Mortgage rates drop below 6% for the first time in 3 years

Plus: Fed chair Powell faces DOJ investigation

January 12, 2026

🔁 Another Monday, another batch of news. Today’s newsletter is a 2.5-minute read.

Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of January 9, 2026. © MND Daily Rate Index.

1. Fed chair Powell faces DOJ investigation

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Sunday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment related to his testimony on the Fed’s building renovations.

The move marks a significant escalation in President Trump’s ongoing conflict with the Federal Reserve, an independent agency he has repeatedly criticized for not cutting its key interest rate as quickly as he would like.

"This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”

Jerome Powell, Fed Chair

2. Newrez invests in AI underwriting platform Homevision

Newrez has invested in mortgage technology firm HomeVision and is partnering with the company to develop an AI-powered underwriting platform for the mortgage industry, the companies announced Wednesday.

Through the partnership, the two companies aim to expand HomeVision's scope beyond its current collateral-underwriting focus. Already a client of HomeVision, Newrez expects to develop the company’s AI technology to also serve as an underwriting solution for income, assets, and credit components.

The new platform is expected to begin rolling out in 2026, with HomeVision delivering additional tools over the following 18 months.

3. More Nuggets

📉 Mortgage rates drop below 6% for the first time in 3 years. (MND)

🏘️ 17 states are back above pre-pandemic 2019 housing inventory levels. (ResiClub)

🚀 Why the fix-and-flip sector is poised for a breakout in 2026. (HousingWire)

4. The US economy added just 50,000 jobs in December

The U.S. economy added an estimated 50,000 jobs in December, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This brought average monthly job gains for 2025 to around 49,000, a 70% decline from last year’s average monthly gain of 168,000.

The unemployment rate edged down to 4.4%, from 4.5% in November. Economists had expected a net gain of 55,000 jobs in December, with the unemployment rate at 4.5%, according to FactSet consensus estimates.

November’s job growth was revised down to 56,000 from an initial estimate of 64,000, while the unemployment rate for that month was revised to 4.5%.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

5. Ultra-luxury real estate sales hit new heights in 2025

For the first time on record, all 10 of the largest home sales of the year traded at $100 million or more. According to The Wall Street Journal’s latest report on luxury real estate, 2025 produced ten $100 million home sales, up from seven in 2024 and five in 2023.

Most of the major deals were in Florida, which recorded 19 sales above $50 million in 2025, compared with 12 in New York and 10 in California. Miami alone saw four sales above $100 million; before 2025, the city had logged just two nine-figure sales in its history.

Luxury buyers are placing such a premium on location and control that even vacant plots of land in Miami and Palm Beach commanded nine-figure prices last year.

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

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