(Bloomberg) — Mortgage rates in the US ticked down slightly, falling for the third week in a row.
(Bloomberg) — Mortgage rates in the US ticked down slightly, falling for the third week in a row.
The average for a 30-year, fixed loan dropped to 6.13% from 6.15% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday.
The housing market has started to show signs of increased buyer interest in recent weeks as borrowing costs have eased. Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. said demand has picked up in January. Sales of new homes climbed for a third month in December, government data showed Thursday.
“Mortgage rates continue to tick down and, as a result, home purchase demand is thawing from the months-long freeze that gripped the housing market,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Potential homebuyers remain sensitive to changes in mortgage rates, but ample demand remains, fueled by first-time homebuyers.”
Certain measures of demand have started to tick up in recent weeks, Redfin Corp. said Wednesday in a report. Despite that, the brokerage company warned that the housing market wasn’t out of the woods yet and could face pressure from an uncertain economic outlook or affordability issues.
Buyers are still paying more on average than a year ago. At the current 30-year average, a borrower with a $600,000 mortgage would pay roughly $3,647 a month, about $936 more than a year ago, when rates were about 3.55%.
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