Deal Math Market Brief
Short, sourced updates on mortgage rates, the housing market, and Texas and Oklahoma real estate rules, each with a link to the primary source and to the calculator or guide it affects.
30-year mortgage rate eases to 7.18%, third weekly decline
Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.18% on November 5, down from 7.24% a week earlier but up from 6.22% a year ago.
Oklahoma voters reject SQ 847, keeping the 3% and 5% property value caps
State Question 847, which would have cut Oklahoma's yearly cap on taxable value growth from 3% to 1.75% for homesteads and ag land and from 5% to 4% for other property, failed on November 3.
Fed holds its target range at 3.75% to 4%, with two votes for a hike
The Federal Open Market Committee left the federal funds target range at 3-3/4 to 4 percent on October 28; Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissented in favor of a quarter-point increase.
Texas home sales fell 4.7% from a year earlier in August as inventory stayed high
The Texas Real Estate Research Center reported 28,740 closed sales in August, down 4.7% year over year, a $330,000 median price and 5.3 months of inventory.
U.S. housing starts fell 5.2% in September to a 1.22 million pace
Census Bureau data showed September housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,221,000, down 5.2% from August and 7.4% from a year earlier; permits were 1,400,000.
Existing-home sales rose 1.5% in September; median price $417,500
NAR reported existing-home sales at a 3.99 million annual rate in September, up 1.5% from August and down 2.2% from a year earlier, with a 4.8-month supply.