Market Update: Rates Remain Quiet Amid Administration Changes; Existing Sales Rise to 10-Month High

Blog posted On January 24, 2025

It was a big week for more than just mortgage rates. Monday marked the beginning of a new four-year presidential term, and with it, a new administration. Immediately following the president’s inauguration, he began pushing out an onslaught of executive orders. One in particular caught the attention of the housing industry: “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis.”

How the new administration will address housing issues

Many Americans are having a hard time with high home prices. One of the reasons prices are so high right now, according to the order, is regulatory requirements. To help ease the costs of purchasing a home, the administration aims to reduce these regulatory requirements. Here’s how:

• Tim Scott: Scott, a senator from South Carolina is the newly appointed Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
• Regulation review:  The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will “review how overregulation contributes to excessive costs and delays in the supply of affordable housing and will prioritize struggling families over adding to the bureaucracy that has failed to support them,” noted a Committee press release.
• Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act: Scott proposed the act in the fall, and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) seemed to be on board. The ROAD to Housing Act aims to “ensure the households who utilize federal housing programs have greater access to tools which enhance financial literacy and improve economic opportunity.”

Existing home sales ticked up; mortgage rates relatively unamused

In other news, mortgage rates were relatively unchanged this week despite all the commotion. We also got news on existing home sales from December this morning, which showed a larger-than-expected increase. Experts predicted they would rise to 4.19 million, yet they climbed by 2.2% month-over-month to reach a level of 4.24 million. This marked a 10-month high for existing sales. Compared to December 2023, sales were up by 9.3%, which is the largest annual increase since 2021.

If you have any questions about the recent changes or upcoming year, let us know.

Sources: Bloomberg, Housingwire, Housingwire, Housingwire, Mortgage News Daily, National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), Reuters