After flirting with 7% in the past weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate slipped to 6.81%, according to a recent report shared by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
This week’s rate on a 30-year mortgage is a slight drop compared to 6.84% from last week but still remains significantly below the 7.22% mark from a year before. On the other hand, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgages have gone up from 6.02% to 6.10%.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved down this week, but not by much,” Freddie Mac’s chief economist Sam Khater said in a statement. “Potential homebuyers are also waiting on the sidelines, causing demand to be lackluster. Despite the low sales activity, inventory has only modestly improved and remains dramatically undersupplied.”
The mortgage rates initially saw a substantial dip in September following the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut the interest rates by 50 basis points. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage went as low as 6.08%, while the 15-year fixed-rate mortgages came at 5.15%.
However, the mortgage rates have seen a steady surge since then and reached a 4-month high at last week’s 6.84%. While the trend appears to be reversing at the moment, the dip isn’t expected to be large enough for the activity in the housing market to pick up significantly.