15-year fixed mortgage rate also slips to 6.57%
Freddie Mac reported a third consecutive weekly decline in the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate, offering prospective homebuyers some relief amid higher home prices. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 7.18% from 7.24% last week.
The latest 30-year reading remained above the 6.22% average recorded one year earlier, even as the rate posted its third consecutive weekly decline.
The average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also fell, slipping to 6.57% from 6.60% last week. Borrowers refinancing a home loan often seek 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, and the rate stood at 5.50% a year earlier.
Mortgage rates are influenced by inflation, Federal Reserve policy and bond-market investors’ expectations for the economy, among other factors. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.
At midday Thursday, the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.84%, its lowest level in nearly two months. The move in the benchmark came as Freddie Mac reported a third straight weekly drop in its 30-year mortgage average.
FRED’s MORTGAGE30US series listed a raw 30-year mortgage reading of 7.24% as of Nov. 5, while Freddie Mac’s Thursday weekly average was 7.18%. FRED’s DGS10 series recorded a raw 10-year Treasury yield of 4.95% as of Nov. 5, compared with the 4.84% midday reading reported Thursday.
The weekly declines reduced some pressure on prospective buyers facing higher home prices and borrowing costs. Even after three straight declines in the 30-year average, both reported mortgage rates remained above their levels a year earlier: 7.18% versus 6.22% for 30-year loans, and 6.57% versus 5.50% for 15-year loans.