Mortgage Rates at Three Year Low

Rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage recently dropped to a three year low according to Freddie Mac. The company says that a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage had an average of 3.55% for the third week of August 2019; down almost a percentage point from the same period a year earlier. There has been an obvious stimulation of the real estate market due to the drop, according to Freddie Mac.

Demand

Demand for homes is up 5% from this time last year and has continually gotten stronger since the first week of June. As a result of the stronger market, refinancing has surged to its highest share in the last three and a half years. What does that mean? Households who refinanced in the second quarter of 2019 are likely to save an average of $1700 a year which translates to roughly $140 each month.

Lower Mortgage Rates

Lower mortgage rates are not only shoring up home sales, but they are also giving support to homeowner balance sheets due to greater monthly cash flow and steadily increasing home equity.

The 15-year Fixed-Rate Mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.03% recently, dropping from the previous week’s 3.07%. During this period in 2018, the 15-year FRM was 3.98%.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.32%, dropping from the previous week’s rate of 3.35%. This rate was much lower than the same week a year ago when it had an average of 3.82%.

If you are in the greater Tampa Bay Area and want to know about the 30 year fixed mortgages, call me at 813-915-6649 or email me at [email protected].  I have years of experience in the real estate market and I’m up to date with all the changes so I can give my clients the best information possible; call me today.