Author name: Ricky Vasquez

What Trump’s $200B MBS proposal means for mortgage spreads, rates

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac quietly increased their purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in 2025, helping push mortgage spreads lower toward the year’s end. Most analysts, however, were not expecting further meaningful tightening in the near term — at least until this week. That changed Thursday after President Donald Trump posted on social media that […]

What Trump’s $200B MBS proposal means for mortgage spreads, rates Read More »

Will banning institutional investors make homes more affordable?

Housing professionals across the country raised their eyebrows earlier this week when President Donald Trump said he would look to stop large institutional investors from buying homes, citing increased affordability pressures on the typical American consumer. Cotality principal economist Thom Malone has long studied the impacts that real estate investors of all sizes have on

Will banning institutional investors make homes more affordable? Read More »

Modest jobs gains in December signal even cooler labor market

The U.S. labor market continues to slow with the economy adding just 50,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in December, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  In addition to the modest jobs gain, the November jobs number was revised downward to 56,000, which is 8,000 below the previous estimate. The

Modest jobs gains in December signal even cooler labor market Read More »