Overview

• Mortgage rates are swinging with Treasury volatility and limited economic data, leaving rates range‑bound yet prone to sharp moves as applications edged lower last week.
• USDA Rural Housing lending is effectively shut with no new conditional commitments, stalling a niche construction‑to‑permanent product that lacks a private‑market substitute.
• FHA bottlenecks now include the inability to use HUD’s condo review for new single‑unit approvals, leaving financing confined to previously approved buildings and slowing more complex cases that require staff guidance.
• Reverse‑mortgage activity faces a suspension of FHA HECM endorsements, with some lenders closing loans on balance sheets, and Title I endorsements are on hold as Ginnie Mae seeks feedback on HECM securitization risks.
• The data blackout has halted the BLS jobs report and could delay Census housing indicators, while CRE dealmaking cools with tighter credit, permitting and GSA‑linked transactions slow, and flood‑insurance gaps threaten some home closings.