Latest information on the recent trend in mortgage rates and what it means for your buyers and the market.
Buyers have been eagerly waiting for mortgage rates to come down to offset some of today's affordability challenges. Here's the good news: they may be starting to get their wish. Mortgage rates recently hit the lowest level since February - and that gives their purchasing power a boost.
The unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 4.3 percent in July, and the number of unemployed people increased by 352,000 to 7.2 million. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.5 percent, and the number of unemployed people was 5.9 million
If you're ready to buy, now might be the time to strike. Home prices have been rising primarily because of a longstanding shortage of homes for sale. That's unlikely to change, and if mortgage rates do fall below 6%, it's possible buyers would enter the market en masse, further pushing up prices and resurrecting bidding wars.
