It’s Fed decision day today and another 75-basis point rate hike is expected. Mortgage rates have surged to 14-year highs, deterring both buyers and builders, who have begun making the shift to apartments. ArchMI released its quarterly Housing and Mortgage Market Review, which said that rates aren’t expected to return to the sub-3 percent, or sub-4 percent, range any time soon. Existing home sales have declined sharply to sit nearly 30 percent below the January 2021 pandemic peak of 6.65 million and about 10 percent below the 2019 average of 5.24 million. Over the past year, home prices climbed another 13 percent and combined with increases in mortgage rates have caused the cost of homeownership to surge 48 percent year-over-year and 79 percent over two years. Bloomberg reported that “Months of supply has rarely increased as quickly as it has over the past six months. While we have a limited sample size of this kind of volatility, the size of this increase is normally associated with falling home prices 12 months forward.” As a reminder, those impacted by mortgage companies downsizing can post their resume for free here and employers can view them for the nominal fee of $75. (Today’s podcast is available here and this week’s is sponsored by Richey May, a recognized leader in providing specialized advisory, audit, tax, technology and other services in the mortgage industry and in banking.) Lender and Vendor Services and Products While seamless closings are ideal for everyone involved, life doesn’t always work that way. There are several roadblocks that can delay the closing process, and sometimes there’s just no way around it. The good news is that many of the problems that can arise are actually things you can control. Read Radian’s article, 4 Home Loan Closing Delays & How You Can Avoid Them, to learn what the most common problems lenders and borrowers face and how each can be avoided.