Mortgage Rates On 30-Year Home Loans Witness Biggest Weekly Drop In A Year, Says Freddie Mac

U.S. mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly a year, according to Freddie Mac, with buyers seeking to capitalize on the decline.

Freddie Mac noted that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) fell to 6.35% as of Thursday, down from 6.5% the previous week, marking the largest weekly decline in the past year.

A year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.2%, according to the government-sponsored enterprise.

“Mortgage rates are headed in the right direction and homebuyers have noticed, as purchase applications reached the highest year-over-year growth rate in more than four years,” said Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Sam Khater.

The firm stated that, based on its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 15-year FRM has decreased to 5.5% from 5.6% last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.27%.

On Wednesday, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that the mortgage rates fell by 15 basis points to an 11-month low of 6.49% for the week ended September 5. It added that the interest rates on 15-year and five-year mortgages were down to their lowest levels in nearly a year.

Data from Bank of America shows that the refinancing rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is now down to 6.25% for a current loan balance of $200,000.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities gained in Thursday’s midday session. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.75%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.57%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

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