Mortgage rates decreased temporarily in June, giving Millennial first-time homebuyers room to enter the housing market. The 30-year fixed-rate average went down to 4.52 percent, per Freddie Mac survey data.
Additionally, the 15-year fixed-rate average decreased to 3.99 percent from 4.04 percent the week before, and the five-year adjustable rate average hit 3.74 percent, down from 3.87 in the previous week, The Washington Post reports. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement, “The run-up in mortgage rates earlier this year represented not just a rise in risk-free borrowing costs, but for investors, the mortgage spread also rose back to more normal levels by about 20 basis points. What that means for buyers is good news. Mortgage rates may have a little more room to decline over the very short term.”
Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said in an interview that first-time buyers are paying close attention to the rate declines. “Interest rates are very important for first-time buyers — they don’t have cash to buy a home,” Yun said. “Home sales, which have been weakening the past few months, may stabilize because the [mortgage] rates are declining.” He added that buyers should act quickly because “it’s much more likely rates will be higher three to six months from now.”
