U.S. borrowers can get the cheapest mortgages this year, thanks to worries over European debt, and that could keep homebuyers active even after the expiration of a tax credit designed to lift sales.
Mortgage rates fell to their lowest level of the year this week as yields on U.S. government securities fell, Freddie Mac said Thursday. Fixed mortgage rates tend to follow the yield of 10-year Treasury notes.
Treasury yields sank after Germany’s move this week to curtail certain kinds of short-selling spooked investors, who shifted money from risky European debt to safer U.S. securities.
A side effect of the lower Treasury rates was lower mortgage rates.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dipped to 4.84 percent from 4.93 percent a week earlier, Freddie Mac said. It was the lowest level since mid-December, when rates averaged 4.81 percent.
“The timing is fortuitous,” said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, “because home shoppers who rushed to sign their purchase contracts in late April to capture the tax credit are locking in their mortgage rates now.”
To take advantage of these historically low rates, contact one our Real Estate Agents at Calcagni Associates.. They will help guide you through the pre-qualification process, and will help you find the home that is right for you!
(Source: Associated Press/AP Online)
