WASHINGTON–The average rate on the 30-year mortgage hit 7.09% in early August, its highest point since 2002, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association and historic data from Freddie Mac.
“And rates aren't expected to drop anytime soon, making it a difficult time to be a homebuyer,” said Yahoo Finance. As CUToday.info reports separately, economists with Goldman Sachs are predicting the Fed will not move to cut rates until the second quarter of 2024. So, when will mortgage rates go back down?
According to CBS MoneyWatch, “there’s no telling…but they won't necessarily remain above 7% either.”
Don’t Expect a ‘Ton of Relief’
"Buyers shouldn't expect a ton of relief. They should expect mortgage rates to remain relatively steep, in the 6% to 7% range,” LendingTree Senior Economist Jacob Channel told CBS MoneyWatch. “But just because they've risen over last few weeks doesn't mean they'll keep rising in perpetuity…If there is good news, it's that they're not going to skyrocket. The bad news is they won't plummet. People should expect rates to drop lower than what they are, but to remain relatively steep for some time," Channel said.
Tighter Lending Standards
Meanwhile, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that credit availability decreased in July, with its monthly Mortgage Credit Availability Index falling by 0.3% to 96.3.
"Lenders are being more stringent about who they're lending to. Credit availability is extremely tight out there in the market," Black Knight's Andy Walden told CBS MoneyWatch.
The bottom line is that while mortgage rates will continue to fluctuate, they will remain high.