Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s weekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it each Friday afternoon.
-As economic signs remain stagnant or begin to worsen, the Fed decided once again to keep interest rates steady at the latest FOMC meeting. Many in the industry held an expectation for the central bank to “hold the line,” so the decision did not come as a surprise.
-“My expectation is that (a rate decrease) will take longer, and that sets the Fed up for a late summer or early fall adjustment, and mortgage rates could follow suit,” commented Danielle Hale, chief economist with Realtor.com.
-Mortgage rates continued the upward climb past 7% this week, the fifth week of increases, according to the latest data from Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 7.22% this week, up from 7.17% last week, and the 15-year FRM averaged 6.47%, up from 6.44%.
-“On average, more than one-third of home sales for the entire year occur between March and June,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “With two months left of this historically busy period, potential homebuyers will likely not see relief from rising rates anytime soon.”
-As mortgage rates rise, mortgage applications continued their fall for the second week in a row, according to the MBA’s latest report. Applications decreased 2.3% from one week earlier.-“Inflation remains stubbornly high, and this trend is convincing markets that rates, including mortgage rates, are going to stay higher for longer,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and chief economist.
