{"id":4257,"date":"2023-06-15T16:57:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T16:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frankbuysphilly.com\/mortgage-rate-relief-wont-come-until-end-of-2023-housing-economists-say\/"},"modified":"2023-06-15T16:57:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T16:57:30","slug":"mortgage-rate-relief-wont-come-until-end-of-2023-housing-economists-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frankbuysphilly.com\/mortgage-rate-relief-wont-come-until-end-of-2023-housing-economists-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortgage rate relief won\u2019t come until end of 2023, housing economists say"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After a slight decline this week, mortgage rates are expected to stay at their current elevated levels for a while in reaction to the Federal Reserve<\/strong>‘s<\/a> (Fed) decision to pause<\/a> its tightening monetary policy in June. In turn, mortgage origination volumes will remain under pressure for the remainder of the year.<\/p>\n The Freddie Mac’s<\/strong><\/a> Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which focuses on conventional and conforming loans with a 20% down payment, shows the 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.69% as of June 15, down from last week’s 6.71%. The 30-year was at 5.78% a year ago at this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other indexes also show rates trading on the sidelines. The 30-year fixed rate for conventional loans was 6.97% at Mortgage News Daily<\/strong><\/a> on Thursday morning, down one basis point from the previous day. HousingWire’s<\/strong> Mortgage Rates Center<\/a> showed Optimal Blue’s<\/strong> 30-year fixed rate for conventional loans at 6.71% on Wednesday, compared to 6.70% the previous day.<\/p>\n \u201cMortgage rates decreased slightly this week in anticipation of the pause in rate hikes by the Federal Reserve,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac\u2019s chief economist, said in a statement. <\/p>\n Officials at the Fed decided in their June\u2019s meeting to maintain rates in the 5% to 5.25% range, following 10 consecutive hikes. Policymakers want to assess how much banks reduced lending levels due to the recent tumult in the sector and evaluate the impact of their rate hikes so far \u2013 including in the housing sector. <\/p>\n Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told journalists that housing, a very interest-sensitive sector, it’s the first place that’s \u201ceither held by low rates or is held back by higher rates.\u201d<\/p>\n “We now see housing putting in a bottom and maybe even moving up a little bit. You know, we are watching that situation carefully. I do think we will see rents and house prices filtering into housing services inflation. And I don’t see them coming up quickly. I do see them coming kind of wandering around at a relatively low level now.” <\/p>\n