Expert says more than $2 trillion in mortgages are now eligible for refinancing
Mortgage rates slumped to a nearly two-year low for the week ending June 6, opening doors for refinancing.
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) showed that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate went down to 3.82% for the sixth consecutive week – its lowest level since September 2017. The week before, 30-year FRM averaged 3.99% and 4.54% last year.
“These low rates are also good news for current homeowners,” said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater. “With rates dipping below 4%, there are over $2 trillion of outstanding conforming conventional mortgages eligible to be refinanced – meaning the majority of what was originated in 2018 is now eligible.”
The PMMS also revealed that the 15-year FRM dropped to 3.28% with an average 0.5 point, down from the prior week’s 3.46% and last year’s 4.01%.
The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.52%, falling from 3.60%. A year ago, the five-year ARM was 3.74%.
“While the drop in mortgage rates is a good opportunity for consumers to save on their mortgage payment, our research indicates that there can be a wide dispersion among mortgage rate offers,” Khater said. “By shopping around and getting a single additional mortgage rate quote, a borrower can save an average of $1,500.”
