Mortgage rates have drifted into the spring selling season's sweet spot, and buyers are finally responding. Freddie Mac’s 30-year mortgage rate fell to 6.23 percent, its lowest level in the last three spring homebuying seasons, while the Mortgage Bankers Association said applications for purchase loans jumped 10 percent last week and refinance demand rose 6 percent.
That rebound has been powered less by a clean run of good news than by a shifting mix of geopolitics and markets. Mortgage News Daily said average top-tier 30-year fixed rates were unchanged at 6.29 percent to 6.33 percent on Thursday, but intraday volatility picked up after war-related headlines around Iran briefly moved bonds and oil. A ceasefire, softer oil prices and optimism around U.S.-Iran negotiations had already helped push borrowing costs lower, according to CNBC’s report on buyer demand.
For homebuyers, cheaper financing is starting to loosen a market that looked sluggish only weeks ago. Freddie Mac said the recent drop is showing up in pending sales and refinance activity, while Redfin described a small spring rebound as new listings rose 3 percent over the past four weeks. Lenders are still watching bond markets closely, though, and Mortgage News Daily said some already nudged rates higher after the mid-day wobble, leaving the next move dependent on whether the rally in bonds holds into the next session.
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