Following four weeks of rate increases, fixed-rate mortgages posted a drop this week. Rates remain well below their averages from a year ago, and Freddie Mac predicts that will be a boon to home sales over the next couple of months. This comes after the Federal Reserve voted Wednesday not to increase its benchmark rate.
“Moving into summer, we expect rates to be about a quarter to half a percentage point lower than where they were last year, which is good news for the housing market,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for the week ending May 2:
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.14%, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 4.20% percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.55%.
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.60%, with an average 0.4 point, dropping from last week’s 3.64% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 4.03%.
Source: Freddie Mac