The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is finally closer to 6% than 7%.
Following two weeks of gradual declines, the popular loan product tumbled 0.15% to average 6.35% for the seven-day period ending Thursday, according to Freddie Mac data.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 15 basis points from last week, the largest weekly drop in the past year,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, noted in a press release. “Mortgage rates are headed in the right direction and homebuyers have noticed, as purchase applications reached the highest year-over-year growth rate in more than four years.”
The 15-year fixed mortgage also experienced a notable dip, falling 10 basis points to 5.5%.
Both the 30- and 15-year rates still sit above last year’s respective averages of 6.2% and 5.27% for the second week of September. But the recent downturn has been a welcome sight for prospective homebuyers weary of a 30-year rate that breached 7% in January and has a 52-week average of 6.7%.
Mortgage applications jumped 9.2% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Those seasonally adjusted gains included a 7% increase in purchase applications, spurred by a spike in adjustable-rate mortgages.
“Borrower demand surged to a three-year high last week, following a decline in mortgage rates to their lowest level since last October,” MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit observed in a market commentary.
Broeksmit added: “The refinance share of applications, which had averaged 42% over the last 12 months, increased to 49% last week, as homeowners with higher rates jumped at the opportunity to lower their monthly mortgage payment.”