| CURATED for Agents | A Divided Fed Holds Rates, Freddie Mac’s Rate Falls to 7.24% & Zillow Agrees to Pay $212.5 Million |
THURSDAY · OCTOBER 29, 2026 Skip the tabs, feeds, and newsletters. CURATED pulled together what matters in real estate today and broke it down into one read. |
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| 👋 Agents. The Federal Reserve held rates at 3.75 percent to 4 percent in a 10-2 vote, with two officials pushing for a hike.
Freddie Mac’s 30-year rate fell to 7.24 percent, its lowest level this month. Zillow agreed to pay 212.5 million dollars to settle the Zillow Offers shareholder suit. Redfin says the median home-sale price fell 0.1 percent from a year earlier. NAR says prices rose in 78 percent of metro areas in the third quarter. Let’s get into all of it.
Enjoy, — CURATED. |
| 1st TakeA Divided Fed Holds Rates at 3.75% to 4% as Two Officials Dissent in Favor of a HikeThe Quick TakeThe Federal Reserve held the federal funds rate at 3.75 percent to 4 percent on Wednesday, Real Estate News reports. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2. Committee members Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissented, preferring a 25-basis-point hike. The Fed said it wants an “accumulation of more information” before deciding its next steps. On Wednesday, Mortgage News Daily’s 30-year fixed rate ticked up slightly to 7.35 percent. Read more →What’s at StakeFed Chair Kevin Warsh said that “at every turn, good or bad, our job is to get monetary policy right.” After the Oct. 28 announcement, the CME Group’s FedWatch tool put the odds of a quarter-point hike at 84.6 percent. Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said would-be buyers should plan for further mortgage rate volatility. | 📊 The Takes
Most agents now plan around a December hike, a smaller group sees a calm week to lock, and some say inflation data will matter more than any press conference.
📅 Plans for December — ‘The odds of a December hike hit 84.6 percent. I tell buyers not to wait for lower rates.’
🔒 Locks While It Is Calm — ‘Rates barely moved on Fed day. For buyers who are ready, a quiet week is a good week to lock.’
🌡️ Reads the Inflation Data — ‘Two officials already wanted a hike. The next inflation report tells me more than the press conference did.’ |
| 2nd TakeFreddie Mac’s 30-Year Rate Falls to 7.24%, Its Lowest Level This Month, as Treasury Yields RetreatThe Quick TakeFreddie Mac’s average 30-year fixed rate fell to 7.24 percent for the week ending Oct. 29, from 7.32 percent the week before, Realtor.com reports. Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said it is the lowest level this month. Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner said the main driver was the 10-year Treasury yield. It averaged roughly 5.02 percent earlier this week, down from 5.13 percent. Read more →Why It’s HittingA year ago, the 30-year rate averaged 6.17 percent. Berner said stock market volatility pushed investors toward the safety of government debt. This week, homes for sale rose 8 percent from a year ago, the highest weekly growth rate since late January, Realtor.com data shows. Berner noted the relief comes when home sales are usually more subdued. | 📊 The Takes
The lowest rate this month has many agents calling stalled buyers, while others stress the gap with last year and a few want one more drop first.
📞 Calls Stalled Buyers — ‘Rates hit the lowest level this month. That is my reason to call every buyer who paused.’
📆 Remembers Last Year — ‘Rates are still more than a point above a year ago. A small dip will not change many minds.’
🎯 Waits for One More Drop — ‘Two weekly declines in a row is a start. I want to see it continue before I push.’ |
| 3rd TakeZillow Agrees to Pay $212.5 Million to Settle the Shareholder Class Action Over Its Shuttered Zillow Offers BusinessThe Quick TakeZillow has agreed to pay 212.5 million dollars to settle a securities class action over its shuttered Zillow Offers iBuying business, HousingWire reports. The suit claims Zillow and certain executives made misstatements about the unit’s home-purchase volumes and pricing accuracy. The settlement contains no admission of wrongdoing and still needs court approval. Zillow says about 48 million dollars of the payment is expected to come from insurance. Read more →The Real StoryThe suit was filed in November 2021, after Zillow said it would wind down Zillow Offers and take a 304-million-dollar write-down. Hagens Berman, the class action firm involved with the Moehrl commission lawsuit, was court-appointed class counsel. Related shareholder derivative suits remain pending. | 📊 The Takes
Plenty of agents see an old Zillow chapter closing, some note class counsel Hagens Berman was also involved with Moehrl, and others say it changes nothing in their daily work.
📕 Sees a Chapter Closing — ‘Zillow Offers shut down in 2021. This deal mostly closes the book on the iBuying years.’
⚖️ Notes the Law Firm — ‘Hagens Berman, the class counsel, was also involved with the Moehrl commission lawsuit. I notice when that firm lands a settlement.’
🤷 Sees No Change for Me — ‘This is a shareholder case. It changes nothing about how I work with buyers and sellers.’ |
| 4th TakeRedfin Says Home-Sale Prices Fell for the First Time in More Than Three Years as Pending Sales Sank to a New LowThe Quick TakeThe median U.S. home-sale price fell 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 389,601 dollars in the four weeks ending Oct. 25, Redfin reports. Redfin says the price has fallen for the first time in more than three years. It is the second straight week of declines, after a 0.2 percent dip the week before. Pending home sales fell 1.8 percent from a week earlier to the lowest level in records dating back to 2021. Read more →Why You’ll Feel ItPending sales fell in all 50 of the most populous metros for the third week in a row. The median monthly mortgage payment was 2,786 dollars, up 10.7 percent from a year earlier. Redfin says there are hundreds of thousands more home sellers than buyers nationwide. | 📊 The Takes
Many agents read the dip as a pricing lesson for sellers, others see buyers holding the most leverage in years, and some say payments still keep buyers away.
🏷️ Prices for Today — ‘Sale prices are now below a year ago. My sellers need to price for this market, not last spring.’
🤝 Pushes Buyer Leverage — ‘Sellers outnumber buyers by hundreds of thousands. My buyers should negotiate every term.’
💸 Watches the Payment — ‘The typical payment is up 10.7 percent from a year ago. A tiny price dip does not fix that.’ |
| 5th TakeNAR Says Home Prices Rose in 78% of Metro Areas in the Third Quarter, With the Median Up 1.7% to $432,900The Quick TakeHome prices rose in 78 percent of metro markets in the third quarter, down from 80 percent in the second quarter, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. The national median single-family existing-home price rose 1.7 percent from a year earlier to 432,900 dollars. Prices declined in 21 percent of markets, up from 20 percent last quarter. Four percent of metros posted double-digit gains. Read more →What This MeansNAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said prices continue to set record highs in most parts of the country. The West was the only region where the median fell, down 0.6 percent. The typical monthly payment with 20 percent down was 2,251 dollars, up 48 dollars from last quarter. | 📊 The Takes
NAR’s report reads as steady values to many agents, while others zero in on the 21 percent of markets that slipped and a few on the bigger monthly bill.
🏠 Says Values Are Holding — ‘Prices rose in 78 percent of metros. I show my sellers that values are still holding up.’
📍 Checks Local Comps — ‘Prices fell in 21 percent of markets. A national median means little until I pull my local comps.’
💵 Counts the Monthly Cost — ‘The typical payment rose 48 dollars from last quarter. Buyers feel that more than any median price.’ |
| 6th TakeThe Economy Grew at a 3.4% Pace in the Third Quarter as Residential Investment Fell and PCE Inflation Rose to 3.6%The Quick TakeThe U.S. economy grew at a 3.4 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s advance estimate shows, Mortgage Professional America reports. That beat the 3.1 percent to 3.2 percent consensus forecast. Residential investment declined, extending a drag on housing. PCE inflation rose to 3.6 percent from a year earlier in September, up from 3.4 percent in August. Core PCE stood at 3.1 percent. Read more →The Bigger PictureBusiness investment climbed 12.7 percent, and consumer spending grew 3.8 percent. Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, said elevated inflation is likely to keep the Fed on track to hike at future meetings. MBA forecasts an additional two hikes over the next six months. | 📊 The Takes
A hot economy signals higher rates to most agents, while some fixate on shrinking housing investment and others on September’s jump in inflation.
📈 Expects Rates to Stay High — ‘A 3.4 percent economy with rising inflation does not bring rates down. I am planning around that.’
🏗️ Sees Housing Left Out — ‘Business investment boomed while residential investment fell. Housing is not sharing in this growth.’
🔥 Fixed on PCE — ‘PCE inflation hit 3.6 percent. Until that number cools, I do not expect mortgage relief.’ |
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