Current:Home > ScamsAverage rate on a 30-year mortgage falls to 6.47%, lowest level in more than a year-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Average rate on a 30-year mortgage falls to 6.47%, lowest level in more than a year
View Date:2024-12-23 16:34:39
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell this week to its lowest level in more than a year, a welcome affordability boost for prospective home shoppers and homeowners looking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate.
The rate fell to 6.47% from 6.73% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.96%.
This is the second straight weekly drop in the average rate. It’s now the lowest it’s been since mid-May last year, when it was 6.39%.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell this week, pulling the average rate down to 5.63% from 5.99% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.34%, Freddie Mac said.
“The decline in mortgage rates does increase prospective homebuyers’ purchasing power and should begin to pique their interest in making a move,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Additionally, this drop in rates is already providing some existing homeowners the opportunity to refinance.”
After jumping to a 23-year high of 7.79% in October, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has mostly hovered around 7% this year — more than double what it was just three years ago.
The elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have discouraged home shoppers, extending the nation’s housing slump into its third year.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in June for the fourth month in a row. And sales of new single-family homes fell last month to the slowest annual pace since November.
Rates have mostly eased in recent weeks as signs of easing inflation and a cooling job market have raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate next month.
veryGood! (27)
Related
- Amtrak service disrupted after fire near tracks in New York City
- Israel widens evacuation orders as it shifts its offensive to southern Gaza amid heavy bombardments
- Police in Greece arrest father, son and confiscate tons of sunflower oil passed off as olive oil
- The fatal stabbing of a German tourist by a suspected radical puts sharp focus on the Paris Olympics
- We Can Tell You How to Get to Sesame Street—and Even More Secrets About the Beloved Show
- Israel says more hostages released by Hamas as temporary cease-fire holds for 7th day
- Judge rejects Trump's motion to dismiss 2020 federal election interference case
- Alabama woman pleads guilty in 2019 baseball bat beating death of man found in a barrel
- Indiana man is found guilty of murder in the 2017 killings of 2 teenage girls
- Raheem Morris is getting most from no-name Rams D – and boosting case for NFL head-coach job
Ranking
- Brian Austin Green’s Fiancée Sharna Burgess Celebrates Megan Fox’s Pregnancy News
- Holiday shopping: Find the best gifts for Beyoncé fans, from the official to the homemade
- Duke basketball’s Tyrese Proctor injured in Blue Devils’ loss to Georgia Tech
- Why Kirby Smart thinks Georgia should still be selected for College Football Playoff
- The Daily Money: Inflation is still a thing
- Shannen Doherty says cancer has spread to her bones: I don't want to die
- Judge rejects Trump's motion to dismiss 2020 federal election interference case
- Group of swing state Muslims vows to ditch Biden in 2024 over his war stance
Recommendation
-
Are Dancing with the Stars’ Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber Living Together? She Says…
-
Thousands of climate change activists hold boisterous protest march in Brussels with serious message
-
Enjoy This Big Little Look at Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum's Sweet Love Story
-
Waiting for water: It's everywhere in this Colombian city — except in the pipes
-
Francesca Farago Details Health Complications That Led to Emergency C-Section of Twins
-
1 person is dead and 11 missing after a landslide and flash floods hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island
-
Massachusetts Republicans stall funding, again, to shelter the homeless and migrants
-
More than 100 Gaza heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks