What happened to mortgage rates this week
The Freddie Mac rate for a 30-year mortgage inched down 3 basis points to 6.81%, as ten-year treasury yields fell by nearly 20 basis points over the past week. This downward movement in treasury yields comes amidst growing certainty over President-Elect Trump’s cabinet and policy plans, especially details surrounding his pick for Treasury Secretary in Scott Bessett as well as details on the breadth and depth of tariffs on overseas goods. This should continue to put downward pressure on mortgage rates through the first week of December.
What it means for the housing market
Though mortgage rates are likely to decline in the coming weeks, the dip will be too little and too late to boost home sales in December. The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to be a slow period for home shoppers anyways, so we shouldn’t expect much of an uptick, if at all, in December’s home sales like we did after rates took their dip in September. That being said, the end of the year does tend to bring more buyer-friendly characteristics to the housing market, such as higher inventory, slower moving homes, and more price cuts as sellers try to close out a deal before the new year hits, so buyers looking to put a new home under the Christmas tree could pleasantly surprised by having a look at growing home inventory.