Average long-term US mortgage rate falls slightly, easing borrowing costs for home shoppers
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell slightly this week, welcome news for home shoppers facing rising prices and a stubbornly low inventory of properties on the market this spring homebuying season
LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell slightly this week, welcome news for home shoppers facing rising prices and a stubbornly low inventory of properties on the market this spring homebuying season.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage slipped to 6.79% from 6.87% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.32%. The average rate is now at its lowest level in a couple of weeks.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also dipped this week, pulling the average rate to 6.11% from 6.21% last week. A year ago it averaged 5.56%, Freddie Mac said.
“Mortgage rates moved slightly lower this week, providing a bit more room in the budgets of some prospective homebuyers,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Regardless, rates remain elevated near 7% as markets watch for signs of cooling inflation, hoping that rates will come down further.”
After climbing to a 23-year high of 7.79% in October, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained below 7% since early December. It got up as high as 6.94% just a month ago, after stronger-than-expected reports on inflation, the job market and the economy clouded the outlook for when the Federal Reserve may begin lowering its short-term interest rate.
Many economists expect that mortgage rates will ultimately ease moderately this year, but that’s not likely to happen before the Fed begins cutting its benchmark interest rate. Last week, the central
Read more on abcnews.go.com
