Mortgage brokers also had their eye on the coming refi wave long ahead of the central bank’s September cut. “We’ve seen an influx of business, especially on the refinance side,” Kurt Brandly (pictured top) of Greenside Capital told Mortgage Professional America. “A lot of our clients that purchased either reached out, or we proactively let them know that it might be a good time to refinance.
“We did that prior to the rate drop information coming out because the last time [the Fed cut], we also saw rates go up right after. So we’ve seen a lot of business on the refinance side and very strong, consistent business on the purchase side throughout this season.”
Buyers, homeowners no longer deterred by current rate levels
Patience has been the name of the game for brokers and buyers alike throughout 2025, with rates remaining stubbornly high and economic uncertainty continuing to weigh against the housing market outlook.
Plenty of homeowners and potential buyers were scalded by the rapid interest rate runup seen as the economy emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, when rock-bottom borrowing costs gave way to the highest rates for nearly 25 years.
A November 2023 peak of 7.76% for 30-year average fixed rates marked a high not seen since 2000, striking another blow to the pandemic-era homebuying and refinancing boom. But Brandly said mortgage customers have slowly become accustomed to the new reality – and accepted, for the most part, that pandemic-era rates aren’t coming back.