- Mortgage Nuggets
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- New home sales jumped 10.9 percent in April
New home sales jumped 10.9 percent in April
Plus: Pulte calls on Powell to lower interest rates
👋 Welcome back! We hope the long weekend treated you kindly. Today's newsletter is 734 words — a 2.5-minute read. Lets dive in…
Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of May 27, 2025. © MND Daily Rate Index.
1. Pulte calls on Powell to lower interest rates
The director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) took to social media Monday to tell Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that it’s time to resume the central bank’s interest rate cuts.
FHFA Director William Pulte took a page out of President Trump’s playbook in putting political pressure on the Fed to lower rates.
“Jay Powell needs to lower interest rates — enough is enough,” he wrote. “President Trump has crushed Biden’s inflation, and there is no reason not to lower rates. The housing market would be in much better shape if Chairman Powell does this.”
2. MBA removes DEI pages from website
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has removed several webpages related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), including its DEI playbook.
An MBA spokesperson stated the removal followed a review launched in January 2025 to ensure compliance with executive orders from President Trump’s administration aimed at scaling back federal DEI initiatives.
The spokesperson added, “MBA remains committed to fulfilling our members’ desire for information and resources they can utilize to develop their own strategic programs.” Similar removals have occurred across federal housing-related agencies, including the FHFA, which canceled DEI initiatives totaling $6.4 million.
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3. More Nuggets
📰 GoodLife Home Loans launches retail reverse mortgage division. (HousingWire)
💸 This startup is offering mortgages for 401(k)s. (Semafor)
🏘️ S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Index records 3.4% annual gain in March. (S&P)
🏦 Howard Hanna in open rebellion against NAR’s Clear Cooperation. (NSC)
🏡 The housing market is being transformed by lifestyle delays, here’s how. (ResiClub)
4. New home sales jumped 10.9 percent in April
New home sales in April were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 743,000, an increase of 10.9% compared with March and up 3.3% compared with April 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD.
As of the end of April, there were about 504,000 new homes available for sale. That’s down 0.6% compared with March but up 8.6% compared with April 2024. It’s also about an 8.1-month supply at the current sales rate.
The median sales price of a new home sold in April was $407,200 – an increase of 0.8% compared with the previous month but down 2.0% from a year earlier. The average sales price of a new home sold in April was $518,400 – an increase of 3.7% compared with March and an increase of 3.6% compared with April 2024.
5. Consumer confidence in May rebounds
Consumer optimism got a much-needed boost in May on hopes for trade peace between the U.S. and China, according to a survey released yesterday.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index leaped to 98.0, a 12.3-point increase from April and much better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 86.0.
Much of the positive sentiment, according to board officials, came from developments in the U.S.-China trade impasse, most notably President Donald Trump’s halting of the most severe tariffs on May 12.
“The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards,” said Stephanie Guichard, the Conference Board’s senior economist for global indicators.
☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Friday!
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