The agency's founder and CEO, Mauricio Umansky, appears on Varney & Co. to discuss the sudden drop in office prices and offer his views on home prices.
Mortgage rates fell again this week, leading to a slight increase in demand for purchase and refinance applications.
Still, the latest data showed existing home sales fell in August from the previous month, with many buyers continuing to hold off on purchases, waiting for further big price cuts.
Freddie Mac's latest primary mortgage market survey released Thursday showed that the average benchmark interest rate was 30-year fixed rate mortgage That's down from 6.20% in the previous two weeks to 6.09%. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage was 7.19% a year ago.
A “For Sale” sign hangs on a home in Philadelphia on Aug. 16, 2024. (Joe Lamberti/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The latest rate decline came after the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate by 50 basis points, but the drop in mortgage rates was due to the market expecting interest rates to be lower in the future.
“Mortgage rates continue to fall toward the 6 percent range, stimulating demand for mortgage purchases and refinancing among many consumers,” said Sam Carter, chief economist at Freddie Mac.
“While mortgage rates don't directly track the Federal Reserve's actions, this first rate cut in four years will have an impact on the housing market,” Carter continued. “The decline in mortgage rates in recent weeks suggests this cut was largely priced in, but we expect rates to fall further and home activity to pick up.”
Many buyers and sellers are waiting to see if interest rates will fall further. Currently, about 80% of mortgage holders are living with less than 5% down, according to Zillow research.
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The average interest rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.15% from 5.27% last week. A year ago, the average interest rate on a 15-year fixed loan was 6.54%.
