Source: Yahoo! News —
Homebuyers may finally catch a break this year, says one expert, as signs of fading inflation could drive mortgage rates lower as soon as this month.
“Mortgage rates have declined by almost a full percentage point since they peaked in November,” Melissa Cohn, vice president for William Raveis, a real estate brokerage firm, told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “I think that we can expect mortgage rates to go down another quarter or even as much as a half a percent over the course of the next month.”
The average interest rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen by three-quarters of a percentage point since mid-November, according to Freddie Mac, hitting 6.33% this week. The decline in rates comes after a series of government reports showed signs that inflation in the U.S. was finally cooling.
For some buyers, a mortgage rate drop means gaining back purchasing power and re-entering the market.
“It’s the beginning of 2023. Everyone is back to zero in terms of meeting their goals and everyone has to bring loans in the door,” Cohn said. “Banks are going to sharpen their pencils, they’re going to tighten up their margins, and do whatever they can to bring volume in the door and lower rates will bring more real estate transactions.”
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