After steady declines since the beginning of the year, mortgage rates appear to be leveling off. But that still bodes well for home buyers.
“While rates have moderated, we’re still at nearly three-year lows, which is good news for buyers looking to purchase a home before school starts,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The recent stabilization mortgage rates reflects modestly improving U.S. economic data and a more accommodative tone from the Federal Reserve to respond to the rising downside economic risk from trade tensions and soft global economic data. On the housing front, the latest weekly purchase application data suggests home buyer demand continues to rise, which is consistent with the slowly improving real estate data from the last two months.”
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending July 11:
30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.75%, with an average 0.5 point, unchanged from last week. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.53%.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.22%, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 3.18% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 4.02%.
5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.46%, with an average 0.4 point, rising from last week’s 3.45% average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.86%.
