Mortgage rates have dropped to another record low with the fourth reduction this year and buyers are taking notice. According to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) economist Joel Kan, “The housing market continues to experience the release of unrealized pent-up demand from earlier this spring, as well as a gradual improvement in consumer confidence.” Mortgage applications rose 4% last week from the previous week and were 21% higher than last year, according to the MBA’s seasonally adjusted index. Nine straight weeks of gains and the highest volume in more than 11 years is significant.
A year ago the 30-year home loan averaged 3.84%, but for the week ending June 18th, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.13%, down eight basis points from a week earlier. The previous record low was 3.15% at the end of last month. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages have also seen a drop. Four basis points down to an average 2.58% rate.
With numbers like this, Americans may not want to wait too much longer before locking rates in.
Lower rates have also encouraged an increase in applications for refinancing, with applications up 10% for the week and 106% higher than a year ago. “Refinancing continues to support households’ finances, as homeowners who refinance are able to gain savings on their monthly mortgage payments in a still-uncertain period of the economic recovery,” Kan said.
There is no certainty how long rates will remain this low, however. Matthew Speakman, an economist with Zillow said “Upticks in coronavirus cases across the country left market participants skeptical of the economic recovery’s sustainability. More bad news regarding the uptick in coronavirus cases would likely send rates back downward, possibly to new lows. However, rates could just as easily begin to trend upward again, particularly if key economic data or measures to contain or treat the virus show meaningful improvements.”
The housing market is seeing a rebound. COVID-19 stay at home orders mean more people are wanting to invest in their homes and buyers are ready to capitalize on low rates before they increase. Unsold inventory remains at a low, however, and until there are more houses up for sale there is a limit on how high sales activity will increase.
Yasmin Diallo Turk is a long-time Austinite, non-profit professional in the field of sexual and domestic violence, and graduate of both Huston-Tillotson University and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. When not writing for AG she should be writing her dissertation but is probably just watching Netflix with her husband and 3 kids or running volunteer projects for HOPE for Senegal.
