Mortgage rates plummeted this week, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.47%, down from 6.73% last week and down from 6.96% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
“Mortgage rates plunged this week to their lowest level in over a year following the likely overreaction to a less than favorable employment report and financial market turbulence for an economy that remains on solid footing,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement. “The decline in mortgage rates does increase prospective homebuyers’ purchasing power and should begin to pique their interest in making a move. Additionally, this drop in rates is already providing some existing homeowners the opportunity to refinance, with the refinance share of market mortgage applications reaching nearly 42 percent, the highest since March 2022.”
The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.63%, down from 5.99% last week and down from 6.34% a year ago.
Yesterday the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that applications for refinances jumped 16% during the week ended August 2 as the average rate for a 30-year based on closings decreased to 6.55%, down from 6.82% the previous week. However, applications for purchases increased only 1% compared with the previous week and were down 11% compared with the same week one year ago.
Photo: Ali Rezaei