Mortgage Rates Dipped Last Week, Could Provide Help for Home Sales

Mortgage Rates Dipped Last Week, Could Provide Help for Home Sales

August 15th, 2018

Mortgage rates dipped last week

Mortgage rates have been steadily climbing for some time, but finally saw a modest dip last week.  If they stay stable for a bit or drop even lower, it could provide some welcome support to home sales. The average 30 year fixed rate reversed course and dropped half a point to 4.59% for the week ending August 9th, according to Freddie Mac.

Sales have flattened out somewhat recently, after multi-year price increases, ongoing tight inventory, and recent higher rates. If rates continue to climb or spike higher, home price growth may stagnate, since “some prospective buyers are definitely feeling an affordability crunch”, according to Freddie Mac’s chief economist. Right now, a rate of 4.59% is still up significantly from last year at this time, when 30 year rates averaged 3.90%.

Now may be a good time to buy

Mortgage rates are highly tied to movement in the bond market, which has rallied in the last week based on a currency crisis in Turkey, and uncertainty over the long term effects of US trade tariffs. Most economists expect that unless there’s big change in our economic fundamentals or geopolitical stability, it’s unlikely that rates will move much lower than early 2018 lows.

Projected mortgage interest rates

For now, this is a brief rest from the upward climb to give buyers a little bit of help with affordability before the rates continue to increase.  If you’ve been looking to buy, now may be a good time to take advantage before the next mortgage rate climb.

If you have questions about where rates may be headed, the current state of the housing market, or where your best opportunities lie, contact me today! I’m here for any and all of your real estate needs.