The average rate on a 30-year mortgage inched up to 6.62% from 6.61% last week, mortgage buyer
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, kept easing this week, bringing the average rate to 5.89% from 5.93% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.73%,
This week's slight increase in the average rate on a 30-year home loan follows a sharp pullback in mortgage rates since late October, when its climbed to 7.79%, the highest level since late 2000.
The move mirrored a decline in the 10-year
“Given the expectation of rate cuts this year from the
Housing economists expect that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will decline further this year, though forecasts generally see it moving no lower than 6%.
Despite mostly falling since October, the average rate on a 30-year home loan remains sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was 3.22%. That large gap between rates now and then has helped limit the number of previously occupied homes on the market by discouraging homeowners who locked in rock-bottom rates from selling.
“While lower mortgage rates are welcome news, potential homebuyers are still dealing with the dual challenges of low inventory and high home prices that continue to rise,” Khater said.
The sharp runup in mortgage rates over the past two years pushed up borrowing costs on home loans, reducing how much would-be homebuyers can afford even as home prices have kept climbing due to a stubbornly low supply of properties on the market. That’s weighed on sales of previously occupied
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