Mortgage rates fell for a fourth straight week, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropping to 7.11 percent, Freddie Mac said on Thursday. The rate is down from 7.18 percent last week and is the lowest weekly average in seven weeks, offering a small break to buyers and homeowners weighing a refinance.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell further, averaging 6.45 percent, down from 6.57 percent a week ago, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday at noon ET. The survey is based on loan applications taken from the previous Thursday through Wednesday, and it covers conventional, conforming loans for borrowers who put 20 percent down and have excellent credit.
What the Drop Means for Borrowers
“Mortgage rates dropped to their lowest level in seven weeks, a welcome development that gives borrowers greater flexibility as they navigate the current housing market,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, in the release. The four-week slide has brought the 30-year rate down from a recent peak, though it remains well above where it stood a year ago, when the same survey put the 30-year average at 6.24 percent and the 15-year at 5.49 percent.
For buyers, the direction matters more than the size of any single week’s move. A lower rate trims the monthly payment on a new loan and can bring a home that was just out of reach back into budget, while homeowners with higher-rate mortgages from recent years may find refinancing worth a fresh look. Even so, at 7.11 percent, borrowing costs remain high by the standards of the past decade, and house prices have not fallen to match.
The December Fed Decision Looms
The relief may not last. Markets now price in roughly an 87 percent probability of a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate rise in December after October’s hotter-than-expected inflation report, and the 10-year Treasury yield has pushed above 5 percent. Realtor.com warned that a reversal could come as soon as next week, so the current window for borrowers may be short.
Last week’s survey put the 30-year rate at 7.12 percent, and the new 7.11 percent reading extends the downward run rather than reversing it. For anyone house-hunting this autumn, the message is to watch the weekly survey and be ready to move: rates have now fallen four weeks in a row, but the forces pushing them back up have not gone away.
