Mortgage rates have gone up compared to the start of 2024. But, but they dropped last week after a few weeks of a slight increase. It started to spark a new demand, especially for a new refinancing decision. The average contract interest rate for a fixed 30-year mortgage with loan balances dropped from 7.29% to 7.18%. Nobody changed the rest of the terms. or loans with a fixed 20% down payment.
Treasury rates also dropped along with mortgage rates last week. It is when the press released news of a declining job market, with wage growth slowing down since 2021. The Federal Reserve then released plans to cut down liquidity in the economy. They still wish to maintain a view that a rate increase does not seem likely. Fratantoni, the vice president and chief economist, stated in public. The rate of Federal Housing Administration loans dropped below 7%. It is for the first time in the first three weeks. It is good news for first-time buyers, especially those who wish to use FHA loans.
Property Owners Still Cannot Afford to Pay for Loans
First-time homebuyers will be responsible for half of the buy loans. Government programs are also a crucial source of financing for homebuyers. The increase in FHA activity is a sign that the market is still alive. Yet, the dip in rates caused refinance demand to increase up to 5% for the whole week. But it is still much lower than the week before that. Rates are about 70 basis points higher than they were the previous year. and few borrowers can actually enjoy the event.
Applications for getting a mortgage to get a new real estate increased by 2% for the entire week. but it was still about 17% lower than the similar week a year before. It still depends on whether potential buyers can afford the apartment. Thus, the house prices continue to soar. Tight supply is to maintain high competition, resulting in only a few bargains. Mortgage rates will continue to fall when the week starts. The next big piece of economic data will come next week. There will be a release of another monthly consumer price index. This means that the rates can go up or down fast, depending on the inflation rate.
