As borrowing costs drop, real estate experts predict home prices and sales will pick up.
Mortgages rates dipped below 7% this week for the first time since August — and they could keep sliding further.
After reaching their highest point in the last two decades in late October, mortgage rates have been dropping for the last seven weeks, falling to an average of 6.95% this week for a 30-year-fixed rate mortgage, according to data from Freddie Mac released on Thursday.
“It’s great news for buyers and sellers,” said Oscar Wei, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.
There are signs, too, that the rate could keep dropping. At their meeting Wednesday, Federal Reserve officials announced they expect to cut interest rates next year even further than previously indicated.
After that announcement, the site Mortgage News Daily — which tracks rates on a daily basis, rather than weekly like Freddie Mac — saw interest rates drop by 20 basis points from the prior day.
