LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average rate on a 30-year mortgage eased again this week, extending a welcome trend for prospective homebuyers facing record-high home prices.
The rate fell to 6.86% from 6.87% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.71%.
This is the fourth straight weekly drop in the rate, which has mostly hovered around 7% this year. Home sales have been falling in recent months as the elevated rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have put off many home shoppers.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in May for the third month in a row. Sales of newly built single-family homes fell in April and May from a year earlier by 7.7% and 16.5%, respectively.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continues to trend down, hitting the lowest level in almost three months,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “By historical standards, the economy is in good shape, and we expect rates to continue to come down over the summer months, bringing additional homebuyers back into the market.”
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including how the bond market reacts to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy and the moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.
The yield, which topped 4.7% in late April, has been mostly falling recently following some economic data showing slower growth, which could help keep a lid on inflationary pressures and convince the Federal Reserve to begin lowering its main interest rate from its highest level in more than 20 years.
Earlier this month, Fed officials said that inflation has moved closer to its target level of 2% in recent months and signaled that they expect to cut their benchmark interest rate once this year. The central bank had previously projected as many as three cuts in 2024, which raised expectations in the housing market for mortgage rates to have eased further by now.
With only one rate cut expected before the end of this year, “relief may come too little and too late for many first-time homebuyers,” said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com.
“For home shoppers and sellers, peak mortgage rates are likely behind us, but the risk of volatility remains, complicating moving decisions,” Xu noted.
As rates eased in recent weeks, so did the monthly payments home shoppers agreed to take on when applying for a mortgage.
The national median monthly payment listed on home loan applications in May was $2,219, down 1.6% from the previous month, but up 2.5% from May last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
MBA is forecasting mortgage rates will drop closer to 6.5% by the end of this year.
That may not be enough to entice homeowners who bought or refinanced when rates were below 4% or 3% to sell, as nearly 90% of homes with a mortgage have a rate at 6% or lower.
Meanwhile, mortgage rates ticked up this week for 15-year fixed-rate loans, popular with owners refinancing their home loans. They averaged 6.16% this week, up from 6.13% the week before. A year ago, it averaged 6.06%, Freddie Mac said.
FILE - A for sale sign stands outside a single-family residence on the market May 22, 2024, in southeast Denver. On Thursday, June 27, 2024, Freddie Mac reports on the latest average national mortgage rates. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride reaches its exuberant grand finale on Sunday, bringing rainbow-laden revelers to the streets for marquee parades in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere across the globe.
The wide-ranging festivities will function as both jubilant parties and political protests, as participants recognize the community’s gains while also calling attention to recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws, such as bans on transgender health care, passed by Republican-led states.
This year, tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza are also seeping into the celebrations, exposing divisions within a community that is often aligned on political issues.
Already this month, pro-Palestinian activists have disrupted pride parades held in Boston, Denver, and Philadelphia. Several groups participating in marches Sunday said they would seek to center the victims of the war in Gaza, spurring pushback from supporters of Israel.
“It is certainly a more active presence this year in terms of protest at Pride events,” said Sandra Pérez, the executive director of NYC Pride. “But we were born out of a protest.”
The first pride march was held in New York City in 1970 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Inn uprising, a riot that began with a police raid on a Manhattan gay bar.
In addition to the NYC Pride March, the nation’s largest, the city will also play host Sunday to the Queer Liberation March, an activism-centered event launched five years ago amid concerns that the more mainstream parade had become too corporate.
Another one of the world’s largest Pride celebrations will also kick off Sunday in San Francisco. Additional parades are scheduled in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle.
On top of concerns about protests, federal agencies have warned that foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters could target the parades and adjacent venues. A heavy security presence is expected at all of the events.
A trans artist, performs during a Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Asuncion, Paraguay, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
People take part in the Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
A reveler, wearing angel wings, strikes a pose while crossing the street before the start of a Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Guatemala City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
A reveler, wearing a Maleficent headband, rides atop a float during a Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Guatemala City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
A reveler waves a rainbow-colored scarf during a Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Panama City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Revelers take part in a Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Panama City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An attendee takes part in the annual Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Mexico City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)
A vendor hawks rainbow-colored necklaces during the annual Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Mexico City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Orbach)
A participant strikes a pose during the annual Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Mexico City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)
A participant poses for a photo during the annual Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Mexico City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)
A participant poses for a photo during the annual Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Mexico City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)
Participants pose for a photo during the annual Gay Pride parade marking the culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride month, in Mexico City, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)
Revelers stand in front of the main stage during pride celebrations at the Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
San Francisco Drag Laureate D'Arcy Drollinger speaks on stage during the first of two days of Pride Celebration at Civic Center in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Revelers dance to the music at the hip-hop stage during pride celebrations at Civic Center in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Christy Gorbet, of Pleasanton, center, dances in front of the main stage during the first of two days of Pride Celebration at Civic Center in San Francisco, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
