Freddie Mac 30 year mortgage rate 6.81% up from 6.76% last week

Freddie Mac 30 year mortgage rate for the current week rises to 6.81% from 6.76%

U.S. housing data continue to paint a mixed picture. New‑home sales rose solidly in March, climbing to a seasonally‑adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 724 000 units, a 7.4 % jump from February and 6 % above year‑earlier levels. Builders are attracting buyers with incentives: the median price of a newly built home slipped to $403 600, down 7.5 % from a year earlier, while inventory edged up to 503 000 units (an 8.3‑month supply). These figures suggest that new construction remains the brightest spot in residential real estate as builders fill the gap left by a thin resale market.

Meanwhile, the existing‑home market remains subdued. March resale transactions fell 5.9 % on the month to an annual pace of 4.02 million—2.4 % below the same period last year—confirming that high borrowing costs and limited listings continue to dampen turnover. Yet tight supply is supporting prices: the median existing‑home price reached $403 700, up 2.7 % year on year and the highest ever recorded for March.

Financing conditions are steady but still historically expensive. Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30‑year fixed rate at 6.81 % (week ended 15 May), up modestly from 6.76 % the prior week. Rates have hovered in a 6.7 – 6.9 % corridor for nearly four months and sit roughly 30 basis points below the level of a year ago. That range has been tight enough to limit refinancing but stable enough to coax some buyers off the sidelines—purchase‑application volume is running about 18 % above last year’s depressed levels.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.