Freddie Mac predicts lower rates should rekindle demand for the spring home buying season
Mortgage rates plunged last week to their lowest level since the start of 2018, according to Freddie Mac.
The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.37% last week, sliding from the previous week’s percentage. The rate last week was a little bit higher than the 4.38% rate of the same period last year.
“The combination of cooling inflation and slower global economic growth led mortgage rates to drift down to the lowest levels in a year,” said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater. “While housing activity has clearly softened over the last nine months and the lingering effects of higher rates from last year are still being felt, lower mortgage rates and a strong job market should rekindle demand for the spring home buying season.”
The 15-year FRM dropped to an average of 3.81% from the previous week’s 3.91%. The 15-year FRM the same time last year was 3.63%.
The five-year treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.88% also inched backward from 3.91% the previous week. The rate remains higher than the same time in 2018, when it averaged 3.63%
