US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Falls to 7.18% as Inflation Hopes Pull Down Treasury Yields
Updated
Updated · Marketplace · Nov 9
US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Falls to 7.18% as Inflation Hopes Pull Down Treasury Yields
3 articles · Updated · Marketplace · Nov 9
Summary
Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage at 7.18% last week, down more than 20 basis points from about 7.4% in mid-October.
The pullback tracks lower 10-year Treasury yields as investors bet cooling oil prices, easing inflation, a winding-down US-Iran war and just one more Fed hike could cap rate pressure.
Economists say the drop is welcome but too small to revive housing quickly, with forecasts calling for mortgage rates to bounce between 7% and 7.25% over the next month or two.
Home affordability may improve more through slowly softening prices than cheaper borrowing, while supply remains constrained as builder sentiment sits at its lowest since June 2012.
Builders still face high financing, energy and materials costs, plus labor shortages tied to deportations and competition from data centers for skilled trades.