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HousingWire: JPMorgan and Wells Fargo report lower Q3 mortgage revenue even as net income rises 6% at both banks

JPMorgan’s Home Lending net revenue fell 3% year over year to about $1.2 billion in the third quarter, HousingWire reported, while its mortgage origination volume totaled $16 billion, down 7% from the prior quarter and up 15% from a year earlier; its third-party servicing portfolio stood at $651.9 billion. Wells Fargo’s Home Lending revenue was $743 million, down 15% from $870 million a year earlier, and its companywide mortgage banking income fell 39% year over year to $164 million. Net income rose 6% from a year earlier at both banks, to $15.3 billion at JPMorgan and $6 billion at Wells Fargo.

HousingWire

Bisnow: RBC Global Asset Management and Mill Pond Capital plan to vote against the $4.8B breakup of Toronto-based H&R REIT

Two major shareholders have come out against the planned $4.8B deal to break up Toronto-based H&R REIT, Bisnow reported: RBC Global Asset Management, which holds 9.3 million units, and Mill Pond Capital, which holds 2.2 million units. Mill Pond published a five-point letter alleging, among other issues, that the structure benefited CEO Tom Hofstedter at the expense of shareholders. Under the deal, Blackstone, PSP and Crestpoint would acquire H&R’s Canadian industrial properties, GO Residential REIT would take a 27-property portfolio and a Hofstedter family entity the remaining noncore assets, with shareholders receiving a 14.5% premium over the June 10 close. The REIT holds a special meeting on Nov. 13 to vote on the breakup.

Bisnow
High priority

HousingWire: NAR says existing-home sales rose 1.5% in September to a 3.99 million annual rate, still 2.2% below a year earlier

Existing-home sales rose 1.5% from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million in September but were 2.2% below a year earlier, HousingWire reported from National Association of Realtors data. Inventory rose 1.9% to 1.60 million units, a 4.8-month supply, and the median existing-home price rose 1.3% year over year to $417,500, the 39th consecutive month of annual gains. First-time buyers accounted for 31% of sales. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said August and September were the two slowest months for sales this year and that further increases in mortgage rates in recent weeks mean fewer buyers can qualify.

HousingWire

El Financiero: IMF raises its 2026 growth forecast for Mexico to 1.5% from 1.2%, trims 2027 to 1.8%

The International Monetary Fund raised its 2026 GDP growth forecast for Mexico to 1.5% from 1.2% in its World Economic Outlook update published Oct. 13, after growth of just 0.5% in 2025, El Financiero reported (via EFE). The IMF lowered its 2027 forecast for Mexico to 1.8% from 1.9%. The report attributes the modest acceleration to continued support from exports, including artificial-intelligence value chains, and a stabilization of investment, while saying trade and other uncertainties will keep restraining activity. The IMF expects the United States to grow 2.3% in both 2026 and 2027.

El Financiero

Bisnow: Service Properties Trust receives an unsolicited $2B cash bid for 93 hotels from TKO

TKO LLC, a hotel investment firm run by Jim Koehler, made an unsolicited offer on Oct. 7 to acquire all 93 hotels in Service Properties Trust’s portfolio for $2B in cash, Bisnow reported. The price exceeds the RMR-managed REIT’s market capitalization of less than $1B; SVC, which has been selling hotels to pay down debt and pivot to net lease, said it would review the offer. Analysts at B. Riley Securities said there is a limited chance the transaction will be completed, citing the lack of public data on TKO, and Lucid Capital Markets estimated SVC would face a $535M cost to exit its agreement with Sonesta.

Bisnow

HousingWire: California’s Prop 45 would put CEQA reviews and court challenges on deadlines, with a 270-day clock for litigation

California voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to impose deadlines on environmental reviews and court challenges under the California Environmental Quality Act, HousingWire reported. Proposition 45 would cover housing, water, energy, education, health facilities and transportation projects; agencies would generally have 365 business days to complete a full environmental impact report, and court challenges would face a 270-day resolution timeline. Missing a deadline would not automatically approve a project. Supporters, including the California Chamber of Commerce, say it would make approvals more predictable; opponents warn it would weaken environmental safeguards. Early voting began Oct. 5.

HousingWire
High priority

HousingWire: MBA forecasts single-family mortgage originations falling 5% to $1.99 trillion in 2027, with 30-year rates staying above 7%

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s baseline forecast projects 30-year mortgage rates will stay above 7% through 2027, after reaching 7.5% last week, with total single-family origination volume falling 5% to $1.99 trillion in 2027 from the $2.1 trillion projected for 2026, HousingWire reported from the MBA’s annual convention in Chicago. Purchase originations are expected to edge up 0.8% to $1.42 trillion, while refinance originations fall 17% to $571 billion. MBA economists expect a 25-basis-point Fed hike in December and another in the first quarter of 2027, and forecast the 10-year Treasury yield to average 5.1% in the fourth quarter.

HousingWire

El Financiero: Karl Lagerfeld and Grupo Bosque Real unveil the brand’s first residence in Mexico, a 38-story, 73-unit tower

The Karl Lagerfeld brand and Grupo Bosque Real presented the firm’s first residence in Mexico, a 38-story tower with 73 apartments, including two penthouses, within the Bosque Real development in Huixquilucan, State of Mexico, El Financiero reported. Bosque Real’s León Salame said Mexican buyers are drawn to branded buildings, so this first phase may not be the last. The development already has other branded projects: Unique Yoo Inspired by Starck, with an estimated investment of close to 500 million pesos and prices of around 70,000 pesos per square meter, and Aston Martin Residences, with 151 residences and more than $150 million of investment.

El Financiero
High priority

Category 4 Hurricane Simon, with 140 mph winds, moves parallel to the coast of west-central Mexico under a hurricane warning

Hurricane Simon was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 140 mph as of 12:00 p.m. CST on October 11, about 85 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo and moving north-northwest at 7 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. On the forecast track, Simon is expected to pass very near the coast of west-central Mexico that afternoon and night and remain close to the coast on Monday; a hurricane warning is in effect from Punta San Telmo to El Roblito and for Las Islas Marías. NHC expects additional rainfall of 8 to 16 inches over portions of southwestern Mexico, with isolated maximum storm totals of 30 inches possible across portions of Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco through Monday, producing life-threatening flooding and mudslides, along with a dangerous storm surge near and to the east of where the center approaches land.

National Hurricane Center
High priority

HousingWire: White House sets up a committee to investigate Fed Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage-fraud allegations, with a Nov. 5 hearing

President Trump has established a White House committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage-fraud allegations, a renewed attempt to remove her “for cause,” according to a presidential memorandum reported by HousingWire. The panel will examine whether Cook made false statements in connection with mortgage instruments; an in-person hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5 at the White House, and Cook may submit a written statement by Nov. 10. The allegations trace to referrals by FHFA Director Bill Pulte. Cook has not been charged with a crime and denies wrongdoing; her lawyers said they have “grave doubts” the hearing is legitimate.

HousingWire

HousingWire: Ashton Woods’ net new orders fall 6.7% and gross margin slips to 22.7% as incentives and land costs weigh

Ashton Woods’ net new orders fell 6.7% year over year in its first quarter of fiscal 2027, while closings rose 5.2%, backlog declined 7.8% and the average sales price fell 3.6% to $346,000, HousingWire reported from the private builder’s earnings call. Gross profit margin was 22.7%, down from 25.0% a year earlier, and the cancellation rate rose to 24.9% from 22.4%, which management attributed to affordability, particularly among entry-level buyers. Its affordable brand, Starlight Homes, accounted for 57% of orders at an average sales price of $291,000. Executives said they would rather sell more slowly than buy volume at any cost, and named land as the main margin pressure across the industry.

HousingWire

Commercial Observer: Orange County office vacancy improves to 15.4% in the third quarter as Taco Bell signs the county’s largest office lease in five years

Total office vacancy in Orange County, Calif., improved to 15.4% in the third quarter from 17.1% a year earlier, while average asking rents rose to $3.02 per square foot per month from $2.90 at the end of 2025, according to JLL data reported by Commercial Observer. Tenants signed about 1.55 million square feet of leases in the quarter, led by Taco Bell’s 254,162-square-foot lease at Irvine Company’s Alton HQ, the largest office lease signed in the county in five years. Net absorption remained positive for the year at 265,394 square feet, against negative 158,099 square feet for all of 2025. The county has recorded no new office completions so far this year, and only one project, a 168,137-square-foot building, is under construction.

Commercial Observer

HousingWire: private builders’ September net orders fall 19.5% from August in Wolfe Research’s survey, as 62% report or expect labor constraints

Wolfe Research’s October 9 survey of private homebuilders found that September net orders fell 19.5% from August, 77% of respondents reported worsening demand and closing gross margins declined 90 basis points, HousingWire’s The Builder’s Daily reports. Sixty-two percent of respondents reported experiencing or expecting near-term labor constraints. The column cites a regional homebuilding CEO who described markets where immigration enforcement has reduced available construction crews by an estimated 60% to 80%, while Wolfe’s field research in Atlanta found weak traffic and sales but no reported labor constraints at the communities visited.

HousingWire

HousingWire: housing wealth of homeowners 62 and older reaches a record $15.34 trillion in the second quarter, topping $15 trillion for the first time

Housing wealth among homeowners ages 62 and older rose to a record $15.34 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, surpassing $15 trillion for the first time, according to the quarterly Reverse Mortgage Market Index published by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) and RiskSpan, HousingWire reports. The increase was driven by an estimated $430 billion, or 2.5%, rise in senior home values, partially offset by a $30 billion, or 1.2%, increase in mortgage debt held by seniors. NRMLA president Steve Irwin said older homeowners continue to build substantial housing wealth even as borrowing costs remain elevated, and the association noted that elevated mortgage rates have limited the use of home-equity products, including reverse mortgages, in recent years.

HousingWire

Commercial Observer: Northern Virginia office vacancy falls for a sixth straight quarter to 21.7% as AI, tech and defense tenants lead demand

Northern Virginia’s office market posted 672,378 square feet of positive net absorption in the third quarter, reversing first-half losses tied to buildings being removed from the market, Commercial Observer reports citing JLL; the National Science Foundation’s 380,000-square-foot move to 401 Dulany Street accounted for much of the gain. Vacancy fell for a sixth straight quarter to 21.7 percent, and total available space dropped to 33.6 million square feet, its lowest level in a decade and 25.5 percent below the 45.1 million-square-foot peak in 2023. Leasing slowed to 1.3 million square feet with no deals above 100,000 square feet, while AI, technology and defense companies committed to more than 300,000 square feet of net new space. Class A direct asking rents reached $42.51 per square foot per year and overall direct asking rents averaged $38.13; only about 34,000 square feet is under construction, and more than 10 million square feet of existing inventory has been proposed for redevelopment.

Commercial Observer

Bisnow: Boston trophy office rents reach $105.02 per square foot in the third quarter as law firms pay up, while market-wide asking rents slip to $66.49

Top-tier average rents for high-rise buildings in Greater Boston stood at $105.02 per square foot in the third quarter, a two-year high for trophy space, while average asking rents across the market decreased to $66.49 per square foot from $66.79 a year earlier, Bisnow reports citing JLL third-quarter data. The highest asking rents are in Back Bay at close to $130 per square foot, 15% above pre-pandemic levels, and Downtown Boston hit $110 per square foot in the second quarter of 2026. Ten law firms signed leases among the quarter’s top deals, led by Greenberg Traurig’s 82,000-square-foot lease at South Station Tower and Paul Hastings’s 52,000 square feet at the Prudential Center. Overall Class A rents fell to $74.84 per square foot from $76.16 in 2025, availability in Tier 1 high-rise buildings fell to 3.2%, and with no new offices in the construction pipeline JLL’s Bryan Montgomery said nothing is likely to break ground before the end of the decade.

Bisnow

Bisnow: Realty Income has built a UK and European portfolio worth more than $18 billion in seven years, with KKR taking a 49% stake in a pan-European joint venture

US net-lease REIT Realty Income, with a $51 billion market cap, has assembled a UK and European portfolio valued at more than $18 billion over the past seven years and is now bringing joint-venture partners into it, Bisnow reports. The company owns about 390 properties in the UK, representing about 15% of its global rent roll, and 24 in Ireland; its UK portfolio is valued at $13.4 billion and its continental European portfolio at $4.7 billion according to second-quarter filings, and the region now accounts for around a quarter of revenues. On September 14, Realty Income and KKR announced a euro-denominated joint venture in which KKR invests an initial €528 million for a 49% equity interest in a 54-property portfolio across Ireland, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands, contributed at a 5.9% cap rate, with Realty Income retaining 51% and managing the assets. CEO Sumit Roy said Europe continues to offer attractive risk-adjusted spreads supported by lower borrowing costs and a landscape that remains less competitive than the US.

Bisnow
High priority

Hurricane Isaias makes landfall near Destin, Florida, with 105 mph winds, then weakens to a post-tropical cyclone over Alabama

NWS Doppler radar data indicate Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, around 8:30 PM CDT on October 9 with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and an estimated minimum central pressure of 971 mb, the National Hurricane Center reported. A NOAA water level gauge in Panama City Beach reported a water level of 5.6 feet above mean higher high water, an approximation of inundation in that area, and a station near Santa Rosa Sound reported a gust to 116 mph. By 4 AM CDT on October 10 the center was about 25 miles south-southwest of Montgomery, Alabama, as a post-tropical cyclone with 35 mph winds, and all storm surge and tropical storm warnings had been discontinued. Through the weekend the NHC expects rainfall of 4 to 8 inches across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, and southwest Georgia, with localized totals up to 15 inches, and a later advisory says significant river flooding across the western Florida Panhandle will crest through Sunday.

National Hurricane Center

Commercial Observer: Manhattan office vacancy falls to 12.6% in the third quarter, the lowest since before 2020, as direct asking rents reach $84.56 per square foot

Manhattan office leasing volume was up 2.3 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, and vacancy fell to 12.6 percent, the lowest level since before 2020, down from 13.1 percent at the end of the second quarter and from 14.7 percent a year earlier, Commercial Observer reports, citing JLL, which called the metrics broad-based across major industries. Direct asking rent rose to $84.56 per square foot. This year's deals include Simpson Thacher & Bartlett signing for 916,000 square feet at 570 Fifth Avenue, Bank of America adding 600,000 square feet to its 1.8 million square feet at One Bryant Park over a 20-year term, and Anthropic's full-building deal for 330 Hudson Street. Roughly 7.9 million square feet is under construction and expected to come online between 2028 and 2032, much of it already pre-leased.

Commercial Observer

HousingWire: New York City’s voter-approved fast track lets affordable-housing rezonings in 12 districts clear a 90-day review without a City Council vote starting January 1

Starting January 1, qualifying affordable-housing rezonings in 12 New York City community districts will follow a 90-day review ending with the City Planning Commission, without a City Council vote, for the next five years, HousingWire reports. The 12 districts rank among the city’s lowest producers of affordable housing; four are at the bottom of the city’s 59 community districts, producing fewer than 10 affordable homes in five years. Five of the Fast Track districts are in Queens, three in Brooklyn, two in Manhattan and two on Staten Island. HousingWire notes the policy is already shaping negotiations: on October 6 the Council’s zoning and land use committees approved BWH Group’s Fort Hamilton Mews proposal in Bay Ridge, an 11-story building with 292 apartments including 88 permanently affordable units, after the developer had originally applied for 14 stories.

HousingWire

El Financiero: Mexican peso weakens 1.15% to 18.41 per dollar, its weakest close since November 2025, as the Mexico–US rate differential narrows

The Mexican peso extended its losing streak on October 9, depreciating 1.15% to 18.41 per dollar according to Banco de México data cited by El Financiero, 21 centavos weaker than the October 8 close and the highest exchange rate since November 2025. For the week the peso lost 25 centavos, having closed at 18.16 on October 2. Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base, warned that if Banco de México cuts its rate 25 basis points to 6.25% by year end while the Federal Reserve raises its range to 4%–4.25%, the differential would reach a record low of 200 basis points; she also cited greater risk perception over a possible US restriction on diesel exports and a wide projected fiscal deficit that concerns rating agencies.

El Financiero

Bisnow: Braemar puts the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale under contract for $372 million, or $1.8 million per key, as it funds its $480 million split from Ashford

Braemar Hotels & Resorts put the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale under contract on September 29 for $372 million, or $1.8 million per key, rounding out a series of sales totaling nearly $1 billion that will fund the termination of its management agreement with Ashford, Bisnow reports. The REIT expects to complete the split by the middle of next month and is paying a $480 million termination fee to become fully self-managed; its portfolio has been whittled down to seven luxury hotels. Earlier sales included The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, the Hotel Yountville and the Bardessono Hotel and Spa for $437.5 million in July, and the Pier House Resort & Spa for $190 million a month later. Management expects to reduce annual administrative expenses from $42 million to $15 million through the termination.

Bisnow

IBGE: Brazil’s construction cost index rises 0.30% in September, slowing from 0.44% in August, with the national cost at R$1,999.73 per square meter

Brazil’s national construction cost index (Sinapi) rose 0.30% in September 2026 after a 0.44% increase in August, according to IBGE data. The index is up 5.72% in the year to date and 6.81% over twelve months, down from 7.03% in the twelve months to August. The national cost reached R$1,999.73 per square meter, of which materials account for R$1,127.17 and labor for R$872.56.

IBGE
High priority

Fed Survey of Consumer Finances: homeownership holds at 66% in 2025 as the median net housing value rises to $230,000 from $218,900

The Federal Reserve Board released the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances on October 9. The homeownership rate was 66 percent in 2025, about unchanged from 2022, and for families that owned a home the median net housing value (the value of a home minus home-secured debt) rose to $230,000 in 2025 from $218,900 in 2022. Real median family income rose 7 percent between the 2022 and 2025 surveys to $82,200 while real mean family income fell 6 percent to $145,200; real median net worth rose 2 percent to $215,900 and real mean net worth rose 7 percent to $1.24 million. The fraction of families with debt payment-to-income ratios greater than 40 percent increased from 6.5 to 8.6 percent, a level last seen in the 2013 survey.

Federal Reserve Board
High priority

Bisnow: Moody’s data put 31,659 commercial properties worth $71.8 billion in Hurricane Isaias’s path as the Category 3 storm nears the Gulf Coast

Hurricane Isaias strengthened to a Category 3 storm on Friday, October 9, and was expected to make landfall later in the day near Pensacola, with storm surge up to 9 feet, Bisnow reported. According to Moody’s interactive data cited by Bisnow, an estimated 31,659 commercial properties across Alabama, Florida and Mississippi have more than a 50% chance of facing winds of at least 50 mph, and the total estimated value along the storm’s path is $71.8 billion; residential buildings make up almost half of the potential properties impacted, at 14,945, with an estimated value of $40.2 billion. Mobile has 6,337 commercial buildings with an estimated value of $17.5 billion and 1,670 multifamily residential buildings valued at $3.1 billion, while Pensacola has 6,039 commercial buildings valued at $13.6 billion and 4,757 multifamily residential buildings valued at $8.8 billion. The projections do not predict losses or damages, and Isaias is the first hurricane to make landfall in the region since Hurricane Sally in 2020.

Bisnow (Moody’s)

Brazil’s consumer prices rise 0.82% in September after August’s 0.32% decline, taking 12-month inflation to 4.58%

Brazil’s IPCA consumer price index rose 0.82% in September 2026, reversing the 0.32% decline recorded in August, according to the September release in IBGE’s SIDRA database published October 9. The index is up 3.95% in the year to date and 4.58% over 12 months, versus 4.22% through August. Housing was the fastest-rising of the nine expenditure groups at 2.31% for the month, and stands 4.22% higher over 12 months; education (5.95%), personal expenses (5.90%) and health and personal care (5.75%) carry the highest 12-month rates.

IBGE (Brazil)

Bisnow: a proposed EPA and Army Corps rule would narrow which wetlands fall under the Clean Water Act, with comments open for 30 days from Oct. 9

A draft rule submitted in September by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would redefine “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, removing federal oversight from many wetlands and leaving state agencies to decide what qualifies for development, Bisnow reports. The comment period began October 9 and remains open for 30 days, after which the agencies will consider the comments and release the final rule. Bilzin Sumberg attorney Thomas F. Mullin said the change could reduce permitting time and costs by one year in some cases, while former acting EPA deputy administrator Stan Meiburg called the interpretation “the most anti-environmental you could get” and said it would greatly benefit agricultural landowners, pipeline projects and data center development.

Bisnow

Commercial Observer: Jemal Real Estate, DivcoWest and JLS Capital plan to convert a 342,000-square-foot D.C. office building into 323 apartments

Jemal Real Estate, DivcoWest and JLS Capital have formed a joint venture to convert the 342,000-square-foot office building at 1255 23rd Street NW in Washington, D.C.’s West End into 323 apartments, including about 36 affordable units, while 22,000 square feet of ground-floor retail will remain, Commercial Observer reports. Madison Realty Capital provided a $40 million loan to support the acquisition and predevelopment. DivcoWest owns the eight-story property, built in 1982, and will retain an equity stake alongside Jemal Real Estate.

Commercial Observer

Mexico’s producer prices rise 4.05% year over year in September, with construction prices up 5.71%

Mexico’s National Producer Price Index (INPP), including petroleum, rose 1.37% in September from August and 4.05% from a year earlier, INEGI reported on October 8; in September 2025 the index had risen 0.23% month over month and 3.06% year over year. Producer prices in construction rose 0.17% on the month and 5.71% on the year, up from 3.42% annual growth in September 2025. Prices for intermediate goods and services rose 1.94% month over month and 4.25% year over year, while final goods and services rose 1.14% and 3.97%. Mining prices jumped 13.27% on the month. The next release is scheduled for November 9.

INEGI

Bisnow: Clarion Partners creates a power and energy strategy role and hires Prologis’s global head of energy markets as power availability shapes industrial deals

Clarion Partners launched a new power-focused business line, naming Magesh Srinivasan senior vice president for power and energy strategy, Bisnow reports. Srinivasan spent the last four years at Prologis as its global head of energy markets and 14 years before that at Southern California Edison. Dayton Conklin, head of Clarion’s industrial platform, said power availability is becoming an increasingly important consideration across the industrial real estate landscape, and the firm said Srinivasan will develop a portfolio-wide view of power availability, infrastructure constraints and opportunities and work with its leasing, development and investment teams. Bisnow also cited Cushman & Wakefield data showing U.S. industrial vacancy flat at 7.1% in the third quarter, with construction deliveries at an eight-year low and absorption up 33% year over year.

Bisnow

Commercial Observer: Terra-led venture lands a $507 million construction loan for a 106-unit Miami Beach condo tower before pre-sales begin

A partnership led by David Martin’s Terra has secured a $507 million construction loan from Adi Chugh’s Tyko Capital, whose debt platform is backed by Elliott Management, for a 28-story, 106-unit condominium at 1250 West Avenue on South Beach’s western waterfront facing Biscayne Bay, Commercial Observer reported on October 8. Pre-sales will not start until next year, which the outlet called an unusual move for a luxury condo development in South Florida. Terra’s partners are Gianluca Vacchi’s GV Development, LORE Development Group — a Miami partnership between Leste Group and Brazil’s Opportunity Fundo de Investimento Imobiliário — and Rafi Gibly’s RG Development Group. Terra bought out the site’s 238-unit building for $120 million last year, and the tower will replace a 15-story condo building built in 1964.

Commercial Observer

HousingWire: HUD lays out a seven-step plan to rewrite the manufactured housing code now that the permanent-chassis requirement is gone

HUD’s Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan is the department’s first step toward implementing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which in July removed the permanent chassis requirement for manufactured homes, HousingWire reported on October 8. The seven actions include updating the energy-efficiency and construction standards in 24 CFR Part 3280, revising the Part 3285 installation standards for how chassis-free homes are supported and anchored, creating more flexible pathways for multi-module homes built in factory-made sections, and developing a performance-based federal code for residential buildings of five or more units; HUD has also selected the National Institute of Building Sciences to support its factory-built multifamily initiative. Rulemaking and implementation timelines are not yet set, and industry leaders told the outlet it could take at least a year, if not more, before the benefits appear.

HousingWire
High priority

Fed Governor Waller: after September’s 25-basis-point hike to 3.75%–4%, he anticipates additional hikes if the data come in as expected

In an October 8 speech at the Istanbul Economic Forum, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the FOMC voted last month to raise the policy rate 25 basis points to 3.75 percent to 4 percent, after nine months of holding it steady, and that for at least the near term policy will be focused on the inflation side of the Fed’s mandate. He cited the latest reading of monthly core PCE inflation at 0.25 percent and the 12-month change at 3 percent, a range it has occupied since the spring of 2024, and described the labor market as solid and stable in September. Waller noted that 16 of the 18 participants who submitted projections in September anticipated at least one more hike during the two remaining meetings this year, four of them two hikes, and that traders see an 85 percent chance of at least one hike by the end of the December meeting. If the economic data continue to come in as expected, he said, he anticipates additional hikes, which do not need to come at consecutive meetings.

Federal Reserve Board

Uruguay’s central bank raises its policy rate 25 basis points to 6%, its first increase since April 2025, after two months of above-target inflation

The Banco Central del Uruguay’s monetary policy committee announced on October 8 that it is raising the policy rate by 25 basis points to 6%, after holding it at 5.75% at its August 18 meeting. According to Bloomberg Línea’s account of the decision, it is the first increase in borrowing costs since April 2025 and follows inflation of almost 4.7% in September, a 16-month high driven by food prices, against a 4.5% target with a tolerance margin of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points; it also reverses course after seven cuts totaling 3.5 percentage points between July 2025 and March. Policymakers said the increase is not meant to reverse the direct impact of temporary rises in energy and food prices but to act proactively to limit their persistence, and they expect inflation to remain temporarily above target but within the tolerance range before converging within the bank’s 24-month policy horizon.

Banco Central del Uruguay

MBA: mortgage credit availability slips 0.2% to 107.1 in September as lenders tighten documentation on conventional loans

HousingWire reports that the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index fell 0.2% to 107.1 in September, indicating slightly tighter lending standards; the index is benchmarked to 100 in March 2012. The Conventional MCAI decreased 0.4% while the Government MCAI was unchanged; within the conventional segment the Jumbo MCAI declined 0.3%, its second consecutive monthly decrease, and the Conforming MCAI fell 0.2%. MBA deputy chief economist Joel Kan attributed the decline to lenders tightening documentation requirements on conventional loans and reducing offerings of loans that allow for cash-out refinances and investor home purchases. The index combines underwriting and eligibility data from more than 95 lenders and investors.

HousingWire (MBA)
High priority

ECB account: all members backed the September 25-basis-point increase that took the deposit rate to 2.50%

The European Central Bank published on October 8 the account of its September 9–10 meeting, at which all members supported the proposal to raise the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points, taking the deposit facility rate from 2.25% to 2.50%. The September staff projections cited in the account put headline inflation at 3.0% in 2026, 2.5% in 2027 and 2.1% in 2028, with growth of 0.9%, 1.4% and 1.5%. The account notes that euro-area mortgage rates were unchanged in June and July at 3.5%, that mortgage lending growth had softened to 3.0% in July, and that the Governing Council will keep a data-dependent, meeting-by-meeting approach without pre-committing to any rate path.

European Central Bank

HousingWire: FHA purchase lending to non-permanent residents falls from 5.8% of originations to about 0.1% after HUD’s 2025 rule change

Non-permanent residents accounted for 5.8% of FHA purchase originations before HUD’s Mortgagee Letter 2025-09, issued in March 2025 and effective May 25, 2025, and about 0.1% afterward, according to Intercontinental Exchange origination data reported by HousingWire on October 8. Across all loan types, their share of purchase mortgages declined 2.2 percentage points, from 5.6% to 3.4%. The drop is steepest in markets where these borrowers had been a large share of FHA purchase volume: Salt Lake City fell from 26% to 0.15%, Provo from 20% to under 0.5%, Orlando from 16.1% to 0.2%, Lakeland from 13.6% to 0.16%, Raleigh from 11.1% to 0.8%, and Cape Coral and Miami from 10% each to under 1%.

HousingWire
High priority

Freddie Mac: 30-year mortgage rate rises to 7.40%, up from 7.28% a week earlier

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.40% as of October 8, 2026, up from 7.28% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. A year ago the 30-year rate averaged 6.30%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.73%, up from 6.60% a week earlier and 5.53% a year ago.

Freddie Mac
High priority

Banxico minutes: one member floats a fine-tuning cut while another warns Mexico may need to discuss matching Fed hikes

Banco de México published on October 8 the minutes of the decision announced September 24, when its Governing Board voted unanimously to hold the overnight interbank rate target at 6.50% and said policy would not have to react mechanically to anticipated adjustments in the federal funds rate. One member argued there are elements to discuss a fine-tuning cut, stressing that this is not a decision made in advance. Another, citing the Federal Reserve’s shift toward higher rates, said the stance should stay at current levels for a prolonged period and warned that if Mexican inflation does not converge to the 3% target it could become necessary to discuss coupling with the US rate-hike cycle.

Banco de México

HousingWire: the national property tax delinquency rate rises to 5.2% in 2026, the highest since 2017, Cotality reports

The national property tax delinquency rate has risen to 5.2% so far in 2026 from 4.2% in 2025, according to Cotality’s 2026 Property Tax Delinquency Report, HousingWire reported on October 7. The year-to-date rate is the highest since 2017 but remains below the long-term average of 5.4%, and partly reflects seasonal patterns, Cotality said. Mississippi had the highest rate in 2025 at 15.1%, while North Dakota recorded the lowest at 1.4%; Louisiana posted the largest increase in 2025, from 5.8% to 9.0%. States that sell lien certificates to investors averaged a 6.1% delinquency rate, versus 4.5% in states where counties sell the property itself.

HousingWire