What are the current trends for mortgage rates after the rate hike?
Mortgage rates have now gone down for five consecutive weeks. On Thursday the national average for a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage ended trading at 6.13%*, down 0.14% from the previous day. The bond market, in particular mortgage-backed securities, were also lower than the day before, but the national average actually outpaced the bond market. The current thought is that the inflation data was better than expected and the Fed announcement was about what was expected. The market has better guidance to go on, and it’s choosing to go lower.
It’s unclear if we’ll continue the trend, but this could be a great opportunity for home buyers to lock in a mortgage rate heading into the New Year.
Has demand for mortgages improved?
CNBC looked at recent data that measures consumer demand for mortgages, and the market is starting to trend upwards. Mortgage applications rose 4% week-over-week, while refinance applications rose 3% week-over-week. It appears that consumers are starting to notice the improving environment for mortgage rates and are looking to dip their toes back in the water.
Is the real estate market looking up for home buyers in 2023?
2022 was a challenging year at times for home buyers, but are there reasons for optimism in 2023? Yahoo! Finance spoke with several experts and they claimed that there are several reasons to be optimistic for the coming New Year.
Chief economist for Realtor.com, Danielle Hale, stated, “There will be more homes for sale, homes will take longer to sell, and buyers will not face the extreme competition that was commonplace over the past few years.”
Matthew Speakman, senior economist for Zillow, expressed that competition has lessened and the market is starting to shift from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. Speakman said, “Buyers don’t have to settle for the first house they can win a bid on, and inspection and finance contingencies are back on the table.”
* Disclaimer: National average mortgage rate is provided for educational
purposes only and is not an advertised rate from Guaranteed Rate.
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