Interest rates ticked up after the Fed's .25% benchmark rate cut: Freddie Mac's weekly average rate - for 30-year conforming loans only - published yesterday, rose very slightly. The daily average rate from Mortgage News Daily (second chart below), which includes 30-year loans other than conforming, has risen .25% to 6.38% as of today.
Consumer Sentiment (Confidence) continued to decline and is running very low by historical norms: "Although September’s decline was relatively modest, it was still seen across a broad swath of the population, across groups by age, income, and education, and all five index components. A key exception: sentiment for consumers with larger stock holdings held steady in September...Nationally, not only did macroeconomic expectations fall, particularly for labor markets and business conditions, but personal expectations did as well, with a softening outlook for their own incomes and personal finances." University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, 9/26/25
Clearly a large segment of the population remains very concerned about economic and political conditions, though the affluent - who play an enormous role in many of our markets - seem to be least affected.
