Mortgage rates continue to slump amid delta variant concerns
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate, the most popular home loan product, has been on a six-week slide, a downturn fueled by rising apprehension about the pandemic.
According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 2.77% with an average 0.6 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1% of the loan amount. They are in addition to the interest rate.) It was 2.8% a week ago and 2.88% a year ago. The 30-year fixed average has not been above 3% since late June.
Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage investor, aggregates rates from around 80 lenders across the country to come up with weekly national averages. It uses rates for high-quality borrowers with strong credit scores and large down payments. Because of the criteria, these rates are not available to every borrower.
The survey is based on home purchase mortgages. Rates for refinances may be different. As of Aug. 1, borrowers refinancing their mortgages will no longer have to pay the adverse market refinance fee. The fee, which was imposed on mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, added about $1,500 to a $300,000 loan. The surcharge was intended to offset covid-related losses.
The 15-year fixed-rate average held steady at 2.1% with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from the previous week. It was 2.44% a year ago. The five-year adjustable-rate average fell to 2.4% with an average 0.4 point. It was 2.45% a week ago and 2.9% a year ago.
"Investors are uncertain about how impactful resurgent delta-variant covid cases will be, which is helping to keep rates low," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. "Economic growth continued in the second quarter, albeit shy of expectations. And while mask-wearing is making a comeback thanks to CDC guidance and local advisories, health experts don't...