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- Trump may declare a national housing emergency
Trump may declare a national housing emergency
Plus: Metros where mortgage originations are growing
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🐪 Welcome back! Today's newsletter is 701 words, a 2.5-minute read. Let’s dive in…
Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of September 02, 2025. © MND Daily Rate Index.
1. Mortgage demand pulls back after four weeks of gains
Mortgage rates fell again last week, but not enough to pull overall demand out of the rut it’s been in for the past month. Total mortgage application volume dropped 1.2% last week compared with the previous week, according to the MBA.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home dropped 3% for the week and were 17% higher than the same week one year ago.
Applications to refinance a home loan increased 1% for the week and were 20% higher than the same week one year ago.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $806,500 or less, decreased to 6.64% from 6.69%
“Refinance applications saw a small increase from the previous week, driven by FHA and VA refinance applications, but conventional refinances declined. The FHA rate is averaging about 30 basis points lower than the conventional rate in 2025, which has made those loans relatively more appealing to eligible borrowers,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s deputy chief economist in a release. “Purchase activity pulled back, after a four-week run of increases, as slower homebuying activity led to declines in applications across the various loan types.”
2. Trump may declare a national housing emergency
President Trump may declare a national housing emergency this fall, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. It would be the first national emergency related to housing declared since the collapse of the housing bubble drove the U.S. into the 2008 financial crisis.
“We may declare a national housing emergency in the fall,” Bessent told the Washington Examiner on Monday. “We’re trying to figure out what we can do, and we don’t want to step into the business of states, counties, and municipal governments,” Bessent said. “I think everything is on the table.”
Declaring a national housing emergency would let President Trump bypass Congress and wield broad executive powers to intervene in the market. It could fast-track building on federal land, override zoning rules, lower closing costs, or direct funds to affordability programs. Supporters say it could quickly boost supply, while critics argue it stretches emergency powers beyond their intent.
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3. More Nuggets
📈 Rising payment-to-income ratios flagged as early warning for mortgage delinquencies. (TransUnion)
📊 Mortgage rates slightly higher to start September. (MND)
🎥 The secrets behind RE/MAX’s top team and its billion in sales. (Inman Podcast)
🏡 Gen Z is renting, not buying—Here's what it means for the country's future. (NewsWeek)
💼 Lisa Cook mortgage scrutiny increases with new criminal referral. (CSPAN)
💭 Does the trigger leads bill opt-in provision wave goodbye to competition? (HW)
💰 Figure announces launch of IPO, looks to raise $526M. (MorningStar)
4. Number of unsold completed homes for sale
Housing inventory is approaching levels not seen since the financial crisis, a further sign of ongoing difficulties for the sector and the economy as a whole.
The July figure (121,000 unsold completed new homes) published last week is the highest level since July 2009 (126,000).
5. Metros where mortgage originations are growing
Residential mortgage originations climbed in Q2 2025, with 1.76 million loans issued — up 19.4% from the prior quarter and 6.3% year over year, according to ATTOM. Total lending volume reached $601.7 billion, a 22.8% quarterly gain and 10.3% higher than last year.
Growth came from both purchase and refinance activity, with HELOCs also edging higher. Still, analysts cautioned the rebound reflects seasonal trends and modest rate relief, not a full housing recovery. Here are the top 10 metros with the largest annual increases in total mortgage originations in Q2:
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☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Friday!
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