(Bloomberg) — US mortgage rates fell last week to their lowest level since early March, a reprieve for potential homebuyers and an industry seeking a much-needed demand tailwind.
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The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 13 basis points to 6.87% in the week ended July 12, according to Mortgage Bankers Association released Wednesday. The rate on the 15-year mortgage declined to 6.49%.
Mortgage rates move in tandem with Treasury yields, which also declined notably last week as government figures showed a broad cooling in inflationary pressures. That prompted traders to boost bets the Federal Reserve is in a better position to move ahead with interest-rate cuts, possibly as soon as September.
A seasonally adjusted gauge of mortgage applications to buy a home slipped 2.7%, the report showed. Data can be volatile around holidays and the latest weekly figures followed Independence Day. On an unadjusted basis, purchase applications jumped 22%.
MBA’s adjusted overall index of applications, which includes those for home purchases and refinancing, increased 3.9%. The group’s refinancing gauge climbed 15.2%.
The MBA survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The data cover more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US.
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