The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.48%, up from the prior week when it averaged 6.42%. At this time a year ago, the rate averaged 3.22%.
“Mortgage application activity sunk to a quarter-century low this week as high mortgage rates continue to weaken the housing market,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. For the week ending Dec. 30, 2022, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey revealed a 13.2% decrease in mortgage applications from two weeks earlier.
“While mortgage market activity has significantly shrunk over the last year, inflationary pressures are easing and should lead to lower mortgage rates in 2023.” The PMMS cites that the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.73%, up from the prior week’s average of 5.68%. The 15-year fixed-rate averaged 2.43% a year ago.
“Home buyers are waiting for rates to decrease more significantly, and, when they do, a strong job market and a large demographic tailwind of millennial renters will provide support to the purchase market," Khater says. "Moreover, if rates continue to decline, borrowers who purchased in the last year will have opportunities to refinance into lower rates.”
