Homebuyers may be getting a long-awaited break as mortgage rates, after a significant rise for most of 2023, are beginning to decline.
According to data just released from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, otherwise known as Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to an average of 7.22% during the last week of November.
The rate stood at 7.29% the week before.
In a statement, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac chief economist, remarked that “market sentiment has significantly shifted over the last month, leading to a continued decline in mortgage rates.”
“The current trajectory of rates,” continued Khater, “is an encouraging development for potential homebuyers, with purchase application activity recently rising to the same level as mid-September when rates were similar to today’s levels.”
Added the economist: “The modest uptick in demand over the last month signals that there will likely be more competition in an industry starved for inventory.”
This latest decline marks a clear trendline, with mortgage rates decreasing now for four weeks in a roll. As recently as late October, the rate was at 7.79%.
Calling it an “early Christmas,” the site Housingwire noted that altogether mortgage rates have “fallen by almost 1%,” creating in the process “four straight weeks of positive purchase application data.”
“Mortgage rates have fallen more than half a percentage point over the past month, the largest four-week decline since late 2022,” observed the Wall Street Journal. “That could potentially offer some relief to the battered housing market.”
The trendline for the entirety of the year has been a sobering one for both would-be homebuyers and realtors. In early January, the rate was at 6.48%, just beginning a climb that would take it to 6.79% in June, 7.18% in September, and finally 7.79% in the last days of October.
By Garry Boulard
