Mortgage rates ease for the first time in a month
Mortgage rates fell slightly this week for the first time in a month as the Treasury yields that underpin them also fell.
The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.85% this week through Wednesday, from 6.89% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data. The average 15-year mortgage rate was 5.99%, from 6.03%.
'We have been in a very, very narrow range here for over a year,' said Don Roberts, vice president, mortgage field manager at Johnson Financial Group in Kenosha, Wis. 'It just can't seem to find a breakthrough.'
Read more: Mortgage and refinance rates today and HELOC rates today
Relatively high rates have kept mortgage application activity somewhat depressed through the traditional peak homebuying season. Applications to purchase a home were down 4% through Friday compared with a week earlier, according to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) data, though they remain higher than they were a year ago. Refinancing applications also dropped 4%.
MBA President Bob Broeksmit said in a statement that refinance and purchase applications are likely 'to remain within the same narrow range until mortgage rates move lower.'
10-year Treasury yields, which mortgage rates closely track, drifted lower most of this week and then dropped sharply on Wednesday after newly released economic data showed service sector activity weakened and private job creation slumped last month. The fresh signs of a shaky economy sent yields tumbling and reignited discussions about a possible Federal Reserve rate cut in September.
The Fed doesn't directly control mortgage rates, but they are influenced by expectations about the direction of benchmark interest rates. Friday's nonfarm payrolls report will provide fresh insights about the health of the job market. Economists estimate that the US added 128,000 jobs last month, and a number substantially below that could raise traders' odds of a rate cut later this year.
Read more: When will mortgage rates go down to 5%?
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Claire Boston is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.
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