Mortgage Rates Slide, Buyers Gain Edge
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.5% from 6.56%, while borrowing costs on 15-year mortgages slipped to 5.6% from 5.69%.
WASHINGTON — The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage fell again this week, extending a recent trend that should give prospective homebuyers more purchasing power.
The long-term rate eased to 6.5% from 6.56% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.35%.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell. The average rate slipped to 5.6% from 5.69% last week. A year ago, it was 5.47%, Freddie Mac said.
“Mortgage rates continue to trend down, increasing optimism for new buyers and current owners alike,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “As rates continue to drop, the number of homeowners who have the opportunity to refinance is expanding. In fact, the share of market mortgage applications that were for a refinance reached nearly 47%, the highest since October.”
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation.
Rates have been mostly declining since late July amid growing expectations that the Fed will cut its benchmark short-term interest rate at the central bank’s meeting of policymakers later this month.
A similar trend happened last year in the leadup to a year ago, when the Fed cut its rate in for the first time in more than four years. At that time, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage got as low as 6.08%.
While the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, its actions can influence bond investors’ appetite for long-term U.S. government bonds, like 10-year Treasury notes. Lenders use the yield on 10-year Treasurys as a guide to pricing home loans.
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