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US Mortgage Rates Plunge, Fanning Talk Of Late-Summer Housing Thaw
Stressed out, would-be American homeowners packed like sardines into cramped apartments with their spouses and children caught a break in last week's dramatic US Treasury rally.
A big drop in mortgage rates was a foregone conclusion following the largest weekly decline for 10-year US yields since the GFC.
On Wednesday, the MBA said the 30-year fixed plunged 27bps to 6.55%. That'd be the biggest week-to-week drop in years.
As the simple figure shows, rates are now the lowest since May of 202
It’s early innings yet – lots of different effects to come… In the comment that “Invariably, someone will suggest that sharply lower rates (and the prospect of Fed cuts) will drive up prices as demand overwhelms still-scarce supply…” – yes it will be suggested – but may well be wrong if the lower rates 1) stimulate supply that’s been locked up with owners having ultra low rate fixed mortgages; and 2) if in fact we are headed into recession (those hardly ever stimulate higher asset prices!). Just saying….
completely agree with you
This article made me think of how you are doing in your real estate search?
I’m always in the market. I can go anywhere I want, anytime I want, so naturally I’m looking every day and talking to some buyer’s agent or listing agent every week. The main obstacle for me is that the older I get the more particular I am about things. The thought of dealing with issues from a distance is very unpalatable. E.g., if there’s a special assessment at a condo complex and I only visit five or six times a year, am I really going to want to pay that assessment? And so on. That’s a big psychological obstacle for me. That raises the bar significantly when it comes to a given property needing to be absolutely perfect for me to engage in a serious way. That said, I’ve done some serious engaging over the past six months or so. Some of these markets are just frozen stiff, particularly downtown, so a lot of the people involved are just happy to get somebody on the phone. And I like very much to hear myself talk.
I find some stuff I really like in offbeat places. I thought about this one, for example: https://www.redfin.com/TN/Chattanooga/1467-Market-St-37402/unit-200/home/191576379
I think it sold eventually, but I find all kinds of places like that. And I’m interested, but a lot of times (and this was the case with that one), I just can’t get excited about the locale. I don’t think there’s anything in that city except for an aquarium. And that doesn’t really do it for me. I saw enough dolphins from 2016 to 2023 that I’d be fine with never seeing one again.
Looks like a great place, if it was somewhere else…