Mortgage Rates Barely Move

“Unfortunately, don’t expect much relief from the tight inventory conditions plaguing many markets. As seen again last month, new home construction is not picking up to meet demand, and…”

MCLEAN, Va., July 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Freddie Mac (OTCQB:FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey^® (PMMS^®), showing that mortgage rates were once again mostly flat over the past week, inching backward slightly. 

Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, says mortgage rates moved sideways, primarily because of the mixed bag of economic data released this week. “Manufacturing output and consumer spending showed improvements, but construction activity was a disappointment,” he said. “This meant there was no driving force to move mortgage rates in any meaningful way, which has been the theme in the last two months. That’s good news for price sensitive home shoppers, given that this stability in borrowing costs allows them a little extra time to find the right home.”

Added Khater, “Unfortunately, don’t expect much relief from the tight inventory conditions plaguing many markets. As seen again last month, new home construction is not picking up to meet demand, and as a result, home prices are still rising at double the pace of income growth.”

News Facts

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.52 percent with an average 0.4 point for the week ending July 19, 2018, down from last week when it averaged 4.53 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.96 percent. 
• 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.00 percent with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.02 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.23 percent. 
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.87 percent this week with an average 0.3 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.86 percent. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.21 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage.

Visit the following link for the Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.