Good news for potential homebuyers: Not only is home price growth slowing, but mortgage rates rang in the new year with a decline.
Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages ended the week of Jan. 3 at 4.51 percent according to Freddie Mac, down from 4.55 percent the previous week and up from 3.95 percent at the same time last year. Fifteen-year, fixed rate mortgages averaged 3.99 percent, down from 4.01 percent in the final week of 2018.
In a statement accompanying the numbers, Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said that lower rates should get prospective buyers excited about a real estate purchase, though he noted that the recent jitters in the stock market could negatively impact activity in the coming months.
