Homebuyers rejoice: Mortgage rates drop to 15-month low

The Street

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.

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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