First-Time Buyers Get Mortgage Rate Reprieve for Now
August 1, 2018
Mortgage rates continued to decline in the month of June, providing first-time buyers with a reprieve from rising rates for home loans at the same time that property values are increasing.
Freddie Mac reported that, for the week ending July 5, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.52% compared with 4.55% in the week earlier. The mortgage rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.99%, down from 4.04%, while the five-year adjustable-rate mortgage stands at 3.74%, down from 3.87%. In releasing the rates for the week, Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said that there was good news for home buyers: mortgage rates "may have a little more room to decline over the very short term." Translation: first-time buyers who are sensitive to rising costs to borrow may want to jump in now before rates turn higher. After all, the conventional wisdom is that mortgage rates will be higher by the end of this year.