Mortgage Rates Slip On Turbulence In Banking Industry

(RTTNews) - Mortgage rates, or interest rates on home loans, dropped after climbing five consecutive weeks due to failures in the banking industry, 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 or FRM averaged 6.60 percent for the week ending March 16, 2023, down from 6.73 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the average rate was 4.16 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 5.90 percent, down from 5.95 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.39 percent.

"Mortgage rates are down following an increase of more than half a percent over five consecutive weeks," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's Chief Economist. "Turbulence in the financial markets is putting significant downward pressure on rates, which should benefit borrowers in the short-term. During times of high mortgage rate volatility, homebuyers would greatly benefit from shopping for additional rate quotes. Our research concludes that homebuyers can potentially save $600 to $1,200 annually by taking the time to shop among multiple lenders."