Mortgage rates tick down slightly as Federal Reserve holds rates steady

By Aarthi Swaminathan

Uncertainty over the direction of monetary policy 'may continue to stall' the housing market, Freddie Mac says

Mortgage rates fell for the first time in two months, amid uncertainty over monetary policy as well as the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.76% as of November 2, according to data released by Freddie Mac (FMCC) on Thursday.

It's down 3 basis points from the previous week -- one basis point is equal to one-hundredth of a percentage point.

A year ago, the 30-year was averaging at 6.95%.

The average rate on the 15-year mortgage was 7.03%, unchanged from last week. The 15-year was at 6.29% a year ago.

Freddie Mac's weekly report on mortgage rates is based on thousands of applications received from lenders across the country that are submitted to Freddie Mac when a borrower applies for a mortgage.

Separate data by Mortgage News Daily said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was averaging at 7.69% as of Thursday afternoon.

What Freddie Mac said: "The Federal Reserve again decided not to raise interest rates but have not ruled out a hike before year-end," Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement.

"Coupled with geopolitical uncertainty, this ambiguity around monetary policy will likely have an impact on the overall economic landscape and may continue to stall improvements in the housing market," he added.

What are they saying? "We were pleased to see that the Fed held short-term rates steady yesterday and continue to believe that it should not hike again and not sell its holdings of mortgage-backed securities until and unless the housing finance market has stabilized," Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in a statement.

"These actions would help to lower mortgage rates and improve homebuyer affordability heading into 2024," he added.

-Aarthi Swaminathan

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11-02-23 1200ET

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