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A new housing development built along a canal near the Mokelumne River is viewed on May 22, 2023, near Stockton, California. George Rose | Getty Images Mortgage rates are rising sharply this week, as investors sell U.S. Treasury bonds at a swift pace. Mortgage rates follow loosely the yield on the 10-year Treasury. Some speculate foreign countries could be dumping U.S. Treasuries in retaliation against President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plan. But there is another, even bigger, concern for both mortgage investors and for the all-important spring housing market. What if China, one of the largest holders of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), decides to sell those holdings as well in response to the U.S. trade policies. And what if other countries follow? “If China wanted to hit us hard, they could unload treasuries. Is that a threat? Sure it is,” said Guy Cecala, executive chair of Inside Mortgage Finance. “They’re going to look at pushing levers and trying to put pressure … Targeting housing and mortgage rates is a powerful driver of something like that.” At the end of January, foreign countries owned $1.32 trillion worth of U.S. MBS, or 15% of the total outstanding, according to Ginnie Mae. The top owners: Japan, China, Taiwan and Canada. China had already begun selling off some U.S. MBS last year, with the country’s holdings at the end of September down 8.7% year over year and down 20% by the start of December. Japan, which had shown gains in its MBS in September, showed a drop at the start of December. If China and Japan were to accelerate those sales further, and if other nations were to follow, mortgage rates would rise even more than they are now. “The concern, I think, is on folks’ radar screens, and being raised as a potential…

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Filed under: News - @ April 9, 2025 4:10 pm