Mortgage rates continued to inch lower this week as home buyers get another chance at securing ultra-low borrowing rates. Freddie Mac reports the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.90%.
Home buyers can continue to benefit from low mortgage rates, particularly as home prices surge to a new record high of $350,300, Nadia Evangelou, senior economist at the National Association of REALTORS®, writes for the association’s Economists’ Outlook blog.
“Mortgage rates decreased this week following the dip in U.S. Treasury yields,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While mortgage rates tend to follow Treasury yields closely, other factors can be impactful such as the labor markets, which are continuing to improve per last week’s jobs reports.”
Still, Khater expects economic growth to gradually drive interest rates higher. “But home buyers and refinance borrowers still have an opportunity to take advantage of 30-year rates that are expected to continue to hover around three percent,” Khater says.
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending July 8:
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.90%, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s 2.98% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.03%.
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.20%, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 2.26% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.51%.
- 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.52%, with an average 0.2 point, dropping from last week’s 2.54% average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.02%.
Freddie Mac reports average commitment rates along with average points to better reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage.
Source: Freddie Mac and “Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, July 8, 2021,” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog (July 8, 2021)
