Bond yields tumbled as the weaker-than-expected jobs report raised expectations for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. That sent the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage to the lowest level since October 2024. The steep drop could help shake up the housing market, which has seen a dearth of activity amid high home prices and borrowing costs. After a disappointing spring and summer, the housing market could start to heat up as fall approaches with the latest plunge in mortgage rates.
The dismissal pending an imminent legal battle of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has called into question the sacrosanct independence of the U.S. central bank from a White House that is all but obsessed with cutting interest rates. The impact on the market has been clear, but limited in magnitude: Cook's future will be decided in the courts, and in any case, it does not alter the balance for the Fed's upcoming decisions. Still, short-term bonds have fallen on expectations of a looser monetary policy,
