ZCZC
BCN-23
US-HOUSING-MARKET-MORTGAGE
Mortgage rate holds steady in U.S. housing market
WASHINGTON, July 12, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – Mortgage rate remained stable in
the United States last week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation,
commonly known as Freddie Mac, said Thursday.
For the week ending July 11, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) in the
United States held steady at 3.75 percent from the previous week.
The 30-year FRM, the benchmark mortgage rate, was significantly lower than
the averaged rate of 4.53 percent in the same period last year.
Freddie Mac noted that the 15-year FRM this week rose to 3.22 percent,
which was higher than the previous week’s reading of 3.18 percent. It was
also lower than the 4.02 percent rate in the same period last year.
“The recent stabilization in mortgage rates reflects modestly improving
U.S. economic data and a more accommodative tone from the Federal Reserve to
respond to the rising downside economic risk from trade tensions and soft
global economic data,” said Sam Khater, chief economist of Freddie Mac.
“On the housing front, the latest weekly purchase application data suggest
homebuyer demand continues to rise, which is consistent with the slowly
improving real estate data from the last two months,” Khater added.
Freddie Mac, a corporation founded by U.S. Congress, aims to promote the
stability and affordability in the U.S. housing market by purchasing
mortgages from banks and other loan makers. The corporation has been
conducting weekly surveys on U.S. mortgage rate since April 1971.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1230