Dive summary:
- Mortgage rates have been rising as bond-holders try to outguess the Federal Reserve's action on buying mortgage-backed securities or scaling back that program, but Freddie Mac's chief economist, Frank Nothaft, says he thinks everyone should take a breath and go slowly.
- With higher rates, there likely will be a shift from a mortgage market dominated by refinances as historically low rates to home-buyers making purchases, so the market will be smaller.
- There is enough housing demand and a small enough supply of homes to keep the market healthy if bond traders do not throw chaos into the mix, Nothaft says.
From the article:
"Demand is strong, supply is limited, and for most families in most markets, housing affordability is still strong. ...
