The housing market continues to experience challenges.
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) reported that the average rate for a 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage neared 7 percent this past week, up from 6.08 percent in September. The highest average rate so far this year of 7.22 percent in May.
“Heading into the holidays, purchase demand remains in the doldrums,” said Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Sam Khater. “While for-sale inventory is increasing modestly, the elevated interest rate environment has caused new construction to soften.”
The Federal National Mortgage Association’s (Fannie Mae’s) Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Mark Palim said, “Long-run interest rates have moved upward over the past couple months following a string of continued strong economic data and disappointing inflation readings,” said Mark Palim, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “For now we continue to expect affordability to remain the primary constraint on housing activity through our forecast horizon.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Economists Khater and Palim as they head their respective federal agencies and assess the home loan markets.
- For the president and his advisors to seek God’s direction as they make decisions that impact the nation’s economy in the remaining weeks of the current term.
Sources: Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, The Epoch Times
