Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.87%—remaining flat.
Mortgage details:
– The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.87% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending Sept. 2, 2021, unchanged from last week. Last year, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.93%.
– The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.18% with an average 0.6 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 2.17%. Last year, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.42%.
– The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.43% with an average 0.3 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 2.42%. Last year, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.93%.
The takeaway:
Industry experts expect interest rates to stay around the 3% threshold this fall as the markets continue to normalize; however, we may see a bump toward the end of the year depending on several economic factors such as inflation, consumer confidence and manufacturing stabilization.
“Economic growth and the acceleration in inflation have moderated in the last month, giving the markets comfort and leading to a stabilization in mortgage rates,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, in a statement. “Heading into the fall, home purchase demand is stable, home sales remain firm and above pre-pandemic levels, and inventory of unsold homes is tight but improving modestly. These factors will allow for home price pressures to ease over the remainder of the year.”
“Mortgage rates reflected investor uncertainty over dueling economic indicators. The 10-year Treasury dropped early in the week as a result of consumer confidence hitting a six-month low, disappointing private payroll gains, and cooling pending home sales. However, the Institute of Supply Management’s figures showed that manufacturing continued to advance in July,” said realtor.com® Manager of Economic Research George Ratiu in a statement. “In addition, with rising inflation pressures leading regional Federal Reserve voices, like Dallas’s Robert Kaplan, to push for a September asset tapering announcement, the central bank’s continued stance that strong price gains are transitory is fueling conflicting views for markets.”
