07-08-2025
US mortgage rates fall for a third week, hitting lowest since April
[BOSTON] Mortgage rates in the US fell for the third week in a row, hitting the lowest level since April.
The average for 30-year, fixed loans was 6.63 per cent, down from 6.72 per cent last week, Freddie Mac said.
Borrowing costs followed 10-year Treasury yields, which slipped after last week's unexpectedly weak jobs report bolstered bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon. Any sign of a faltering economy may keep anxious house hunters on the sidelines, but mortgages pulling further away from 7 per cent could potentially draw some interest.
'The decline in rates increases prospective homebuyers' purchasing power and our research shows that buyers can save thousands by getting quotes from a few different lenders,' Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said.
A handful of spots around the country have gotten slightly more affordable, according to a report by Redfin. In June, the income needed to buy a typical home declined from a year earlier in 11 of the 50 most populous US metro areas, the brokerage said.
The majority are in Sun Belt states where prices soared during the pandemic and are now coming back down to earth as inventory piles up.
'Buyers are battling affordability and they see a lot of listings sitting on the market, so they are asking for major concessions,' said Katie Shook, a Redfin agent in Phoenix. That city has been 'in a buyer's market for the past eight months', she said. BLOOMBERG
