Experts Question Current Cycle As Rates Dip

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate went down one basis point this week over the previous week to an average 4.52 percent, Freddie Mac reports.

Currently, the housing market is not being urged up or down, and supply and demand imbalance remains in place. Andrea Riquier reports for MarketWatch that while lower rates are helpful to hopeful buyers, supply is still tight and builders are not rushing to speed up their construction projects. Riquier adds, "Many economists and housing-watchers think the current cycle has run its course, but there’s less agreement on exactly what that means."

Also on Thursday, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released a report showing that homeowner remodeling expenses will rise more than 7 percent this year. That’s thanks to surging levels of home equity and a rosier economy – but it’s also a reflection of the lack of homes available. Buyers who want to move up to a nicer home or downgrade to a smaller one may be forced to remodel and make do with what they’ve got instead. That means annual spending on residential improvements and repairs by homeowners could reach nearly $350 billion by the middle of next year, the Harvard group said.

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