The labor market continues to stabilize after a period of gradual softening, while inflation mainly reflects price growth in the goods sector, which has been boosted by the effects of tariffs. Year-over-year inflation growth of 2.7% was unchanged from November. The labor market also continued to cool, with the economy adding just 50,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in December. Looking ahead to 2026, market participants expect additional cuts, with some betting they could begin as early as April. “That could leave 30-year, fixed mortgage rates in the low-6% range, drifting down only gradually throughout the year.”Realtor.com’s Krimmel added that the past 10 days underscore the Fed’s limited influence over mortgage rates.