Freddie expects lower rates to underpin continued improvement in home sales
After four weeks of consecutive increases, fixed-rate mortgages finally declined last week.
Data from Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealed that the 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 4.14% with an average 0.5 point for the week ending May 2, 2019, down from 4.20% the week prior and 4.55% the same time last year. The 15-year fixed-rate average also slipped to 3.60% with an average 0.4 point, down from 3.64% the week prior and 4.03% a year ago.
Additionally, five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) averaged 3.68% with an average 0.4 point, down from 3.77% the week prior.
“Slightly weaker inflation and labor economic data caused mortgage rates to dip this week,” said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Moving into summer, we expect rates to be about a quarter to half a percentage point lower than where they were last year, which is good news for the housing market. These lower rates combined with solid economic growth, low inflation and rebounding consumer confidence should provide a solid foundation for home sales to continue to improve over the next couple of months.”
