- Mortgage Nuggets
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- Rates climb to a one-month high as first-time buyers pull back
Rates climb to a one-month high as first-time buyers pull back
Plus: Loan officer and agent and sentenced in $17M Ponzi scheme
👋 Hello, hello. How y'all doing? Todays newsletter is a quick 2-minute read.
Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of May 05, 2026. © MND Daily Rate Index.
1. Rates climb to a one-month high as first-time buyers pull back
The 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.45% last week, pushing total application volume down 4.4%. Purchase apps fell 4% and are now just 5% above year-ago levels — a sharp narrowing from the 21% gap just two weeks ago.
Refi apps dropped 5% and the refi share fell to 42% — its lowest since August 2025. Rates have moved even higher to start this week, with Friday's jobs report the next potential market mover.
Average purchase loan size hit $467,300, the highest in survey history dating to 1990. MBA's Joel Kan said that likely means first-time buyers and lower price-point shoppers are the ones stepping back.
2. Loan officer and agent and sentenced in $17M Ponzi scheme
A Portland-area real estate agent and loan officer have been sentenced to federal prison after running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded individual investors out of more than $10 million and commercial lenders out of another $7 million.
Robert Christensen, a loan originator, received 63 months. Anthony Matic, a real estate agent, received 33 months. The two promised investors returns of 8-15% within 30 to 90 days on residential property investments — then used new investor money to pay earlier ones when the returns never materialized. When that dried up, they submitted fraudulent loan applications to commercial lenders to keep the scheme going.
Investor money funded casino trips, a whiskey club membership, massages, and cryotherapy. One victim said Christensen — a personal friend — approached her after her husband's death and promised to "double her money." Her life savings were gone.
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3. More Nuggets
🔐 ‘Lock it in!’: Mortgage rates climb to 6.5% amid global volatility. (HousingWire)
🥊 UWM pushes back again as Two Harbors deal fight deepens. (NMP)
💵 First wave of Trump tariff refunds now expected on May 12. (The Hill)
🏡 Rocket Pro extends 100 bps broker credit into May. (Rocket)
4. Zillow and Realtor team up on pre-market listings
The two portals announced a deal to share Zillow Preview listings on Realtor.com this summer, giving pre-market inventory access to roughly three-quarters of all major portal visitors combined.
It's a direct counter to Compass's alliance with Rocket-owned Redfin, which has been syndicating off-MLS listings since February. Zillow Preview now has 60+ participating brokerages, and both portals will offer the product free to sellers and agents.
"With this collaboration we're not just expanding reach, we're creating true seller choice while setting a new industry standard for what transparency in real estate actually looks like for buyers, sellers and agents," Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman.
☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Friday!
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