The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was roughly flat this week, but at a two-year low.
Thirty-year mortgage rates averaged 6.08% as of Thursday, down from 6.09% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data.
The average 2015 mortgage rate rose 1 basis point to 5.16%.
With mortgage rates hovering around 6%, potential buyers are tiptoeing back into the market, and some homeowners who bought when rates were above 7% are considering refinancing. Mortgage applications last week reached the highest level in more than two years, driven primarily by refinances.
“Given the downward trend in interest rates, refinance activity continues to increase, providing many homeowners with an opportunity to reduce their monthly mortgage payments,” Sam Cater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement. born,” he said. “Meanwhile, many potential homebuyers are waiting to see if interest rates will fall further as additional economic data is released in the coming weeks.”
Interest rates on 30-year mortgages have fallen by more than 1 percentage point since May.
Read more: Mortgage and refinance rates today, September 26, 2024: Interest rates are finally lower
The Pending Home Sales Index, a measure of housing contract activity, rose 0.6% in August to 70.6, a slight improvement from July’s record low, according to the National Association of Realtors. A level of 100 corresponds to the amount of contracting activity seen in 2001.
“Buyers are finally starting to feel comfortable with these rates,” said Thelma Hepp, chief economist at real estate data provider CoreLogic. “Given the slump in home sales to date, I don’t think home sales will increase significantly this year, but it’s still a bit of an improvement.”
Claire Boston is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages and home insurance.
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