Mortgage rates increased for the first time since last month, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.81% from last week’s reading of 6.76%.
The average rate on a 30-year loan was 7.02% a year ago.
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“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained below the 7% threshold for the 17th consecutive week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Stable mortgage rates coupled with moderately rising inventory are attracting homebuyers into the market, with purchase application activity up 18% from last year.”
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The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage climbed to 5.92% from last week’s reading of 5.89%. One year ago, the rate on the 15-year fixed note averaged 6.28%.
Housing affordability and supply have been ongoing challenges for many Americans as they look to buy homes.
A newly released report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Realtor.com found that nationwide inventory has increased compared with last year as of March, but “access to affordable homes remains out of reach for many buyers.”
Among the income levels that the report looked at, middle-income buyers with $75,000 in annual pay saw the biggest year-over-year increase in the share of homes listed on the market that they are financially able to purchase, with it going from 20.8% in March 2024 to 21.2% this year.
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“This income group, middle-income buyers, face the largest shortage of affordable listings,” NAR senior economist Nadia Evangelou told FOX Business. “So middle-income buyers gained the most, and that’s very encouraging, yet still have the furthest to go, so there is this middle-income paradox, like biggest gains and biggest gaps.”
Evangelou said increasing the supply of homes is not enough to solve the affordability crisis for Americans – they need to be priced appropriately.
“We need to better match between what’s being built and what people can afford,” she told FOX Business. “That means also rethinking local zoning, incentivizing smaller and more modest homes, supporting builders and expanding access to financing tools like down payment assistance.”
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