The numbers: Mortgage rates dipped to the lowest level in two months, but buyers are still finding the housing market challenging as the number of homes for sale remain low.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.28% as of April 4, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday.
The 30-year was at the lowest level in eight weeks.
That’s down 4 basis points from the previous week — one basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point.
Last week, the 30-year was at 6.32%. Last year, the 30-year was averaging at 4.72%
The average rate on the 15-year mortgage rose to 5.64%, from 5.56% the previous week. The 15-year was at 3.91% a year ago.
Freddie Mac’s
FMCC,
-0.06%
weekly report on mortgage rates is based on thousands of applications received from lenders across the country that are submitted to Freddie Mac when a borrower applies for a mortgage.
Separate data by Mortgage News Daily said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was averaging at 6.16% as of Thursday morning.
What Freddie Mac said: “Mortgage rates continue to trend down entering the traditional spring homebuying season,” Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, those in the market to buy are facing a number of challenges, not the least of which is the low inventory of homes for sale, especially for aspiring first-time homebuyers,” he added.
In a separate report, Realtor.com said that the number of newly listed homes fell by 20% in March, as compared to the year before. Redfin
RDFN,
+4.48%
in another report echoed the sentiment, noting that new listings fell 21.7% year-over-year.
What are they saying: Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, noted that lending requirements are also tightening, which could be hitting buyers.
“The recent banking crises have made some financial institutions wary, leading to more caution in lending,” she said in a statement. “It’s possible that some borrowers with less-than-excellent credit may have a harder time securing a mortgage.”
Market reaction: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y,
3.404%
was trading below 3.3% during the afternoon trading session on Thursday.
Realtor.com is operated by News Corp subsidiary Move Inc., and MarketWatch is a unit of Dow Jones, also a subsidiary of News Corp.
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