Homebuyers rejoice: Mortgage rates drop to 15-month low

  • 2 months ago
TheStreet’s Conway Gittens brings you the biggest news of the day, including what investors are watching and why prospective homebuyers have reason to celebrate.

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Transcript
00:00I'm Conway Gittins reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.
00:02Here's what we're watching on the street today.
00:04Investors are trying to figure out what's next,
00:07after the S&P 500 pretty much regained all of the losses
00:10from this tumultuous week.
00:11Wall Street is looking ahead to fresh clues
00:14on the important US consumer.
00:16Retail sales are due in the coming week,
00:18and we'll get quarterly results from Walmart and Home Depot.
00:21In addition, there will also be fresh inflation data
00:24to look at.
00:25There's been one upside to the market's recent swoon.
00:28Interest rates have fallen
00:29and taken mortgage costs down with them.
00:32According to Freddie Mac,
00:33the interest rate on a traditional 30-year fixed mortgage
00:36dropped to a 15-month low of 6.47%
00:40as of August 8th from 6.73% the prior week.
00:45The drop was the biggest all year.
00:48The cost of a home loan has been on a steady decline
00:51since hitting a 2024 peak of 7.22% back in May.
00:56According to Redfin,
00:57that has increased purchasing power
00:59by roughly $30,000 in a market
01:02where the median sales price is at an all-time high.
01:05But the good news is not just for home buyers.
01:08Freddie Mac's chief economist said,
01:11"'This drop in rates is already providing
01:13"'some existing homeowners the opportunity to refinance
01:17"'with the refinance share of mortgage applications
01:19"'reaching nearly 42%, the highest since March 2022.'"
01:24And that's not all.
01:25Lower borrowing costs are enticing some homeowners
01:28to finally put out that for sale sign.
01:31Total listings are up from a year ago,
01:34which could lead to a moderation in price hikes,
01:37especially for that first-time home buyer
01:40suffering from sticker shock.
01:42That'll do it for your daily briefing
01:44from the New York Stock Exchange.
01:45I'm Conway Gittins with The Street.

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