Sotheby’s International realtor Jenna Stauffer explains why housing demand is rising despite record highs, what the Fed’s next move means and how NYC taxes could affect the luxury market on ‘Mornings with Maria.’
Mortgage rates rose slightly this week, mortgage broker Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 6.3%, up from 6.23% last week.
The average rate for a 30-year mortgage was 6.76% at this time last year.
HOUSING MARKET GAINS MOMENTUM AS BUSY TIME BEGINS
“As prices have eased slightly over the past few weeks, demand has picked up as purchases increased more than 20% over last year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “It’s clear that buying demand continues to be strong as buyers respond to both lower prices and more inventory to choose from than a few years ago,” added Khater.
HOUSING CRISIS HITS EVERY YEAR AS HOMEOWNERSHIP DECLINES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Mortgage rates rose slightly from last week. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The average 15-year mortgage rate rose to 5.64%, from 5.58% last week. The 15-year mortgage rate averaged 5.92% last year.
Mortgage rates are affected by several factors, including the Federal Reserve and geopolitics. Although mortgage rates are not directly affected by the Fed’s interest rate decisions, they closely track the 10-year Treasury yield. The 10-year yield rose to 4.37% as of Thursday afternoon.
The latest mortgage data follows the Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to leave its benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%.
AVERAGE MONTHLY TERM PAYMENT HITS NEW, TOPS $2K FOR FIRST TIME
Geopolitical risk is influencing higher interest rates, say economists. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu said that while the Federal Reserve has “held rates surprisingly tight, the disagreement among voters raises more uncertainty about future monetary policy.”
“Despite the important decisions and the upcoming change of leadership of the Fed, geopolitics is likely to be the driving force behind the loan rates in the near term,” explained Xu.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“As US-Iran peace talks get under way this week, the 10-year Treasury bond rose above 4.3% and surpassed the 4.4% threshold after the Fed left rates unchanged and expressed concern about overall uncertainty related to Middle East tensions,” Xu said.
