Realtor.com Chief Economist Daniel Hale highlights the most important metrics from companies' 2025 outlook and discusses the pros and cons of buying versus renting real estate.
Mortgage rates fell for the second week in a row as the housing market's affordability crisis continued, with further signs of pent-up housing demand and an increase in purchase applications.
Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Study, released Thursday, found that the average benchmark interest rate 30 year fixed mortgage It fell to 6.69% from 6.81% last week, the lowest level since October. The average interest rate on a 30-year loan was 7.03% a year ago.
Homes for sale in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC, USA on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Photographer: Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Many buyers and sellers are waiting to see if interest rates will fall further. Roughly 80% of mortgage holders currently have interest rates below 5%, according to a Zillow study earlier this year.
“This week, mortgage rates fell to their lowest levels in over a month,” said Sam Cater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Consumers are clearly responding as purchase demand has improved markedly despite the slight decline in interest rates.The sensitivity of prospective homebuyers to even small changes in interest rates shows that This shows that headwinds remain.”
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The average interest rate for 15-year fixed mortgages fell to 5.96% from 6.10% last week. A year ago, the average interest rate on 15-year term bonds was 6.29%.
