Mortgage rates tick down to 6.95%

There is a ray of hope for prospective homebuyers as mortgage rates have ticked lower this week, according to the latest data from Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 6.95%, showing a continuous decline in rates.

Yahoo Finance's Rebecca Chen breaks down the downward trend, providing insights into what this means for the housing market and homebuyer sentiment.

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This post was written by Angel Smith

Video Transcript

Mortgage rates ticked lower once again this week with the 30 year fixed rate at 96.95% there.

Yeah, nine probably gave some of you guys a heart attack out there anyway, still hovering just below that 7% mark.

So for what the latest numbers could mean for the housing market, let's bring in Yahoo Finance's very own.

Rebecca Chen live from the west coast.

Hey, Rebecca.

Hey Brad, that's correct.

The average 30 year mortgage rate declined further below 7% this week to 6.95.

Wow, this is better than what we've seen earlier this month.

It is a lot experts are saying it's still too high for many home buyers and the reason is simple.

Um borrowing cost is too high for today's home.

Experts say consumers are looking for a more substantial decline before they return to the market and what that substantial decline will look like.

It's not really a magic number, but experts say they are looking for a trend and this trend will come from the Federal Reserve when and if they begin trimming rates.

Um but the confidence in that has been quite low among Americans.

A survey by Fannie Mae recently has shown that 30% of Americans actually believe that race will go up over the next 12 months.

And this is higher than those who believe race will go down over the next 12 months.

So there are actually more people thinking that race would increase next year.

But there are some, there could be some light at the end of the tunnel.

Economies from Bank of America are now forecasting about six rate cuts over in 2025 and 2026.

So the way to think about this is the cuts that we thought were going to happen in 2024 is being pushed back over to the later two years.

And when that happens or if that happens, it could bring a lot more relief to home buyers who have been waiting for more affordability in the market.