If you’re thinking about buying or refinancing a home, now may be a pretty good time to do it. Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages are hovering around 4 percent, an all-time low since Freddie Mac started keeping track in 1971.
But these record-low interest rates don’t appear to be doing much good when it comes to enticing people to buy. Sales of existing homes dropped 3 percent in September, according to the National Association of Realtors. And the number of new mortgage applications declined nearly 15 percent during the week ending Oct. 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
“The irony is affordability conditions have improved to historic highs and more creditworthy borrowers are trying to purchase homes,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.In Western states, the cost of a loan is cheaper, with an average mortgage rate of 3.95 percent, according to Freddie Mac.
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Christopher Maag Credit.com’s Reporter, Chris graduated with honors from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and has reported for a number of publications including The New York Times, TIME magazine and Popular Mechanics. Reach Chris via email at chris (@) credit.com.
