Every Thursday, Freddie Mac releases the results of their Primary Mortgage Market Survey which reveals the most recent movement in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate. Last week, the rate was announced as 3.01%. It was the first time in three months that the mortgage rate surpassed 3%. In a press release accompanying the survey, Sam Khater, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, explains:Mortgage rates rose across all loan types this week as the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield reached its highest point since June. The reason Khater mentions the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is because there has been a very strong relationship between the yield and the 30-year mortgage rate over the last five decades. Here's a graph showing that relationship:The relationship has also been consistent throughout 2021 as ev... 10/22/2021

There are many headlines out there that claim were reverting to a more normal real estate market. That would indicate the housing market is returning to the pre-pandemic numbers we saw from 2015-2019. But that's not happening. The market is still extremely vibrant as demand is still strong even while housing supply is slowly returning.Here's the definition of normal from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern: characterized by that which is considered usual, typical, or routine.Using this definition, here are five housing industry metrics that prove were nowhere near normal.1. Mortgage RatesIf we look at the 30-year mortgage rate chronicled by Freddie Mac, we can see the average rates by decade: 1970s: 8.86% 1980s: 12.7% 1990s: 8.12% 2000s: 6.2... 09/07/2021