Mortgage Rates Hit Another All Time Low!!
The average U.S. 30 year fixed rate mortgage dropped to an astounding 3.15% this week!!
According to Freddie Mac, the average U.S. 30 year fixed mortgage rate fell to the LOWEST mark in almost 50 Years at 3.15%. I found this surprising as it fell from an already incredibly low rate of 3.24% last week. That is a new record low for the 3rd time in last three months!
This has happened as the Fed Reserve has been buying mortgage-backed securities for the last few months as a way to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.
According to Chris Low (chief economist of FHN Financial in New York) the Fed has purchased more than half a trillion dollars of MBS since March in a bid to stimulate the demand. Initially they planned to purchase $200 Billion worth of MBS to help lower financing costs, but it failed to move the demand needle much. The thought was to use the central bank to stimulate home sales by helping reduce interest rates so that buyers who were looking at homes and backed off because of Covid-19, would be inticed into action upon seeing these incredibly low rates.
If you have been following my updates and posts on this site and my social media posts, you are aware that our local Whatcom County housing market is still VERY intense! Tons of buyers looking to either purchase their next home, or home owners looking at their new Up/Down housing needs. In fact, we have been noticing an almost 2-1 off-market to new on-market ratio in some weeks. Our inventory is extremely low currently, which drives prices higher, thus making the low interest rate news a welcome respite! The lower the cost of borrowing money, the lower your payment will be!
Nationally, applications for new home purchases went UP for the last six consecutive weeks!
Believe it or not, this is a GREAT time to buy Or sell your next home! There are many ways to go about the process that is both SAFE and easy in this Covid-19 season. Virtual home tours, individual home tours and more! If you would like a free PDF copy of my “Guide to Selling (or Buying) a Home”, send me an email or text/call me and I will send it directly to your email inbox!
Don’t forget to sign up for automated emails of new home listings to be sent directly to your inbox as soon as they hit the market! While you do that, ask for a FREE home valuation to be sent as well!
Here is to a great second half of 2020!!
Leave a Reply