Residential Real Estate News
U.S. Mortgage Rates Continued Downward Trajectory in December
According to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.31 percent in mid-December 2022.
"Mortgage rates continued their downward trajectory this week, as softer inflation data and a modest shift in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy reverberated through the economy," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's Chief Economist. "The good news for the housing market is that recent declines in rates have led to a stabilization in purchase demand. The bad news is that demand remains very weak in the face of affordability hurdles that are still quite high."
Freddie Mac News Facts:
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.31 percent as of December 15, 2022, down from last week when it averaged 6.33 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.12 percent.
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.54 percent, down from last week when it averaged 5.67 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.34 percent.
The National Association of Realtors senior economist Nadia Evangelou also commented, "Mortgage rates dropped even further this week as two main factors affecting today's mortgage market became more favorable. Inflation continued to ease while the Federal Reserve switched to a smaller interest rate hike. As a result, according to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.31% from 6.33% the previous week. The monthly mortgage payment for a home loan of $400,000 is currently $2,480 compared to $2,680 five weeks ago when rates were above the 7% threshold. Although mortgage rates are more than double those of a year ago, home prices continue to be higher than the previous year due to limited inventory. Looking at the housing supply by income level, buyers earning $75,000 face the most significant housing shortage compared to any other income group. In a balanced market, these buyers should be able to afford half of the homes listed for sale. However, these middle-income buyers can afford to buy only 20% of all available listings. As a result, even though there are fewer middle-income buyers in the market, there are still not enough homes for them to purchase."
