The Mortgage Bankers Association announced Tuesday that it expects purchase originations to increase 1.6 percent to $1.29 trillion in 2020. After a surge in activity in 2019, MBA anticipates refinance originations will slow next year, decreasing by 24.5 percent to $599 billion.
The Massachusetts economy is running well despite signs of a slowdown and while no single factor is holding the economy back, analysts said the combination of a labor shortage, trade tensions, an impeachment inquiry and more could darken the outlook.
A sharply divided Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year but declined to signal that further rate cuts are likely this year.
The U.S.-China trade war and slower global growth are weighing on America’s manufacturers, reducing their output and causing workforce cuts.
The U.S. economy slowed in the spring, and most analysts expect it to weaken further in the months ahead. Yet the main driver of growth – consumer spending – remains vigorous enough to keep the economy growing steadily if still modestly.
The U.S. economy grew at a solid 3.1 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter – a pace that will likely prove to be the high-water mark for the year before growth weakens in the coming months.
The current expansion has lasted since the official end of the Great Recession in June 2009, or almost nine and a half years. If it lasts seven months more, it’ll be the longest expansion in at least 160 years.
