Are the Falling Mortgage Rates Too Late?

MarketWatch reports that home-loan rates dropped last week, but the reprieve may come too late to benefit would-be homebuyers.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped 13 basis points to average 4.81 percent in the week of November 21, according to Freddie Mac, the biggest weekly decline since January 2015. Similarly, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.24 percent, down 12 basis points during the week. But these low rates didn't do much to change this month’s less-than-stellar housing stats.

Sales of already-owned homes perked up in October, but are still lower than the year-ago selling pace by more than 5 percent. Home builders broke ground on more—but not enough—homes. And one fresh data point bears watching: Mortgage applications for newly constructed houses are plunging, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. As the chart above shows, they’re now lower than year-ago levels by double digits.

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