Mortgage Rates Falls

(RTTNews) - Mortgage rates, or interest rates on home loans, dropped this week after nearly touching the 7 percent mark last week, as inflation slows, according to mortgage provider Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB).

Releasing the results of its primary mortgage market survey, Freddie Mac said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.78 percent as of July 20, 2023, down from last week when it averaged 6.96 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.54 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.06 percent, down from last week when it averaged 6.30 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.75 percent.

"As inflation slows, mortgage rates decreased this week," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's Chief Economist. "Still, the ongoing shortage of previously owned homes for sale has been a detriment to homebuyers looking to take advantage of declining rates. On the other hand, homebuilders have an edge in today's market, and incoming data shows that homebuilder sentiment continues to rise."