Hi Reader, If buying a home feels out of reach right now, it may not mean you need to give up, or even wait. It may mean you need to change the equation. Tomorrow night, I’m hosting a free Zoom: NYC & Beyond: New Paths to HomeownershipTuesday, October 13 at 6:30 PM ET I’ll be looking at two of the biggest shifts I’m seeing among buyers right now: Pooling resources: combining income, using family help, gifts, or rental income to increase buying power. Expanding the map: looking at markets...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate ended Friday at 7.57%, up from 7.43% the prior week, according to Mortgage News Daily. Freddie Mac’s weekly average jumped to 7.28%, up from 7.03% the week before. So, why are rates still moving up? The 10-year Treasury is doing the heavy lifting The 10-year Treasury, one of the most important benchmarks for mortgage rates, hit levels we haven’t seen in more than two decades last week. It climbed above 5.30%, briefly reaching 5.342% on...
11 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Mortgage rates have been doing their best impression of a horror movie protagonist running roughshod in a frantic pattern. Oh, the drama. The average top-tier 30-year fixed rate is 7.50% today, according to Mortgage News Daily, after touching 7.20% a week ago. Freddie Mac's weekly average moved up to 7.03% from 6.95% the prior week. So yes, rates are higher. But, does that mean that you missed the boat on homeownership? No. There are plenty of ways to alleviate the higher rates...
17 days ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate ended the week at 7.43%, up from 7.19% the prior week, according to Mortgage News Daily. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey came in at 7.03%, up from 6.95% the week before (Freddie Mac is an average of the previous week so it tends to lag Mortgage News Daily). You can see above that we are now at the highest point for mortgage rates since April of 2024 when rates hit 7.45% as they did in the middle of last week before falling to 7.43%. This is off...
18 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate ended the week at 7.20%, up from 7.12% the prior week, according to Mortgage News Daily. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey came in at 6.95%, up from 6.76% the week before. The big development last week was that the Federal Reserve raised the Federal Funds rate by a quarter of a point on Wednesday, the first time since 2023. The markets had already baked this in to some extent, as on Monday a week ago, the average mortgage rate was already at 7.17%,...
25 days ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, I normally just send a newsletter on Mondays, but it's been a busy week in the markets and I wanted to share some findings that might be helpful. Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 0.25%, its first increase in more than three years. And today, Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 6.95%. For buyers, and the agents working with them, that can sound discouraging. But, on the heels of this, the mortgage industry responded. And, since...
28 days ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate ended the week at 7.07%, significantly up from 6.89% the prior week, according to Mortgage News Daily. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 6.76%, up from 6.61% the prior week. Why did rates move dramatically up? The 10-year Treasury yield moved sharply higher last week, ending Friday at 4.974%, up 0.191 percentage point for the week and reaching its highest level since October 2023 (because the 10-year...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate ended the week at 6.89%, up from 6.81% the prior week, according to Mortgage News Daily. Freddie Mac’s weekly average also increased, to 6.71% from 6.66%. While this rise is frustrating, it is best understood by breaking the last 6 months down into three periods. As seen in the above chart as A, B and C. A. First spike and partial retreat. In March and April we saw extreme volatility in mortgage rates as the global markets ping ponged between...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate ended the week at 6.81%, up from 6.77% the prior week, according to Mortgage News Daily. Freddie Mac reported an average rate of 6.66%, up slightly from 6.65% the week before. Why rates moved higher Over the course of last week, the markets got increasingly nervous about long term inflation and U.S. spending. Earlier in the week, Treasury yields actually moved lower (good for mortgage rates) as weaker economic data gave bond investors some...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
