Mortgage Rates Move Modestly Higher in Week Ending 23rd July

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending 23rd July 2020. The PMMS shows that 30-year fixed-mortgage rate averaged 3.01% with an average 0.8 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.98%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.75%. The 15-year fixed-mortgage rate averaged 2.54% with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.48%. A year ago, at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.18%. Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Sam Khater said in prepared remarks that “While housing demand continues to rebound, the month-long swoon in economic activity has caused the 10-year Treasury benchmark to drop. In the short-term, this means the demand will continue on the back of near record low mortgage rates. However, the most recent consumer spending data has been pointing to slow growth since mid-June. The concern is that the pause in economic activity will cause unemployment to remain elevated which will lead to longer-term labor market distress.”