What Were Mortgage Rates Like Last September?
by Tim Manni
Times may not be “good” right now, but they are surely better than they were a year ago. Last September, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac led to a massive breakdown of our financial system. However, like we said, we’re beginning to dig ourselves out of the recessionary hole that we’ve been in for far too long.
As the latest issue of HSH’s Market Trends Newsletter — “Rates Steady. Ready for Autumn?” – puts it, “Thankfully, we’re winding our way out of that mess, rather than still pressing deeper into the murk. The slog to fully extricate the economy will persist for some time yet, but prospects for recovery are gradually improving as we go.”
What were mortgage rates like a year ago? According to HSH, one year ago last week, the national average for the 30-year Conforming rate stood at 6.12% — nearly a full percentage point higher than where it stands now.
At the beginning of the month — for the week ending September 4 (2009) — the Conforming 30-year fixed rate finished at 5.25%, a level last seen in late May. Fortunately for would-be refinancers and potential homebuyers, that rate stayed mostly the same last week (week ending Sept. 11), edging downward by 0.01%, to finish at 5.24%.
What does the future hold for mortgage rates? According to the Market Trends:
Stock and bond markets have often been unkind to investors, most notably in late September and October. The good news, though, is that homebuyers and refinancers who feel they might have missed the boat earlier this year need to know that the boat has again approached the dock. It might not quite make it all the way there, though, so borrowers should be prepared to make a leap of faith — in terms of interest rates — in order to get on it. Unless we get an unforeseeable fall stock-market collapse, we don’t expect significantly lower rates, so there’s likely little real benefit in waiting.
[Mortgage rates have] been on a gentle drift downward for weeks, as money has been moving into Treasuries and gold. Despite that, odds favor that we’re due for a firming of rates of perhaps a few basis points as business and market activity quickens.
Click here to continue reading “Rates Steady. Ready for Autumn?” HSH’s free weekly Market Trends Newsletter, an in-depth analysis of various financial markets of the week prior, is published every Monday. Email subscribers receive it in your inbox by Friday night, so sign up today! Also, be sure to check in with our Market Trends blog for all news relating to any weekly shift in mortgage rates.
