Residential Real Estate News
U.S. Mortgage Rates Continue to Climb Above 7 Percent in Late April
NAR says don't expect mortgage rates to decline anytime soon
Based on Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.17 percent as of April 25, 2024.
"Mortgage rates continued rising this week," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's Chief Economist. "Despite rates increasing more than half a percent since the first week of the year, purchase demand remains steady. With rates staying higher for longer, many homebuyers are adjusting, as evidenced by this week's report that sales of newly built homes saw the biggest increase since December 2022."
Freddie Mac News Facts
- The 30-year FRM averaged 7.17 percent as of April 25, 2024, up from last week when it averaged 7.10 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.43 percent.
- The 15-year FRM averaged 6.44 percent, up from last week when it averaged 6.39 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.71 percent.
Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, says consumers shouldn't expect those dynamics to change in the short-term. "The bottom line for spring home buyers is that mortgage interest rates may show little dramatic downward movement any time soon".
