Mortgage rates show two straight weeks of decline
The national average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage edged downward for the second straight week. Nationally, the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage closed at 6.35%*, down from 6.39% the previous day. National averages are currently sitting near their 1-month lows.
The continued move downward comes with recent news that inflation has cooled off a bit and homebuyers are showing increased demand.
While lower rates and increased demand are what homebuyers and sellers should want to see in the middle of the Spring, it remains to be seen if this is a trend or an outlier.
What are the experts saying about the future for mortgage rates?
According to a recent survey from the team at Realtor.com, mortgage rates should start to cool off in the coming months. Most included in the survey highlighted cooling inflation and a pause on rate hikes from the Federal Reserve as reasons for optimism.
Danielle Hale, the chief economist for Realtor.com, stated, “[Pauses on rate hikes] will prevent mortgage rates from climbing too much higher. I expect them to gradually come down.”
David Stevens, the CEO of Mountain Lake Consulting, said, “We should expect to see mortgage rates decline as we move toward year end. Rates will be closer to 5.5% by the end of this year.”
While there’s no real way to know which way mortgage rates will go, hearing that the market will cool off should be welcome to most first-time homebuyers.
Is real estate development in Chicago undergoing a change?
When it comes to real estate development in Chicago, the money and opportunity has usually gone to the north side of the city. That may be changing as one of outgoing mayor Lori Lightfoot’s signature pieces of legislation, the South/West program, rolls out in the coming months and years.
The former mayor made it a priority to enable real estate development for both commercial and residential improvements to the South and West sides of the city. The ambitious plan paved the way for new developments to get rolling in neglected areas of the city.
Multiple projects that were financed under her plan are set to kick off in the coming months and years. While it’s unknown if the initial program will prove as a use case for future development, it’s clear that the legislation enacted by Mayor Lightfoot will add jobs and affordable housing to areas of the city that needed investment.
* National average rates accurate as of 5/11/23 from Yahoo! Finance and are not advertised rates from Guaranteed Rate.
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