Mortgage rates declined for the third week in a row, raising hopes of a good spring season for home buyers. But while rates have declined, the housing market is being challenged by low inventory levels.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Freddie Mac The Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed on Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 6.32% as of March 30, down 10 basis points from the previous week, mainly due to the economic uncertainty caused by the bank collapse. The survey shows that the same rate a year ago was 4.67%.
“Over the past several weeks, falling rates have drawn borrowers back into the market, but as spring home buying begins to pick up, lower inventory has opened up for potential buyers,” Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement. remains a significant challenge.”
Altos Research Data shows that weekly inventories fell from 414,278 on March 17 to 413,169 on March 24.
“As the key spring buying season begins and the best time to sell draws draws near, buyers will be looking for well-priced, ready-to-move-in homes,” said Hannah Jones. Realtor.com’s the economic data analyst said in a statement. “In the spring sellers should start preparing their home for sale, keeping in mind that it takes longer than expected to prepare.”
Rising Rates Ahead?
Despite the week-over-week decline, mortgage rates started rising again in the past few days.
on housingwire Mortgage Rates Center, optimum blue Data showed the 30-year conforming mortgage rate at 6.44% on Wednesday, up from 6.47% earlier on Wednesday. However, the same rate was 15 basis points higher than last Friday.
But mortgage news dailyRates stood at 6.61% on Thursday afternoon, up one basis point from the previous closing and 23 bps from Friday’s 6.38%.
According to mortgage rate watchers, investors pushed up the 10-year Treasury yield in the past few days as they shifted from bonds to other options as uncertainty in the financial sector eased. Mortgage rates, directly related to US Treasuries, increased during this period.
“The 10-year yield is stuck in a range for 2023, and as the crisis turns headlines, the bond market remains channel-lined,” said Logan Mohtashmi, principal analyst at HousingWire.
“The spread between the 10-year yield and the 30-year mortgage has tightened due to the crisis. So, even though mortgage rates fell last week, they reversed sharply this week as the 10-year yield jumped,” Mohtashmi said.
Regional banks facing a liquidity crunch due to the deposit run have been helped through sales or cash infusion. first citizen bank acquired Silicon Valley BankAnd Flagstar Bank took over most of the deposits and some of the assets Signature Bridge Bank. In addition, 11 US banks deposited $30 billion. First Republic Bank,
The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 3.56% on Thursday. Mohtashmi’s forecast for 2023 is to stay in the middle of the 10-year yield 3.21% and 4.25%, meaning mortgage rates should be between 5.75% – 7.25%, assuming the spreads were huge.
