By Crissinda Ponder • Bankrate.com
Mortgage rates fell this week after China’s economy suffered a major setback that disrupted international markets, and U.S. consumers lost some optimism in their outlook on the housing climate.
The improvement in rates makes now an opportune time to buy, says Pava Leyrer, chief operating officer for Northern Mortgage Services in Grandville, Michigan.
“Rates are still very good and very stable,” she says.
China’s economic troubles have created ripple effects elsewhere. U.S. government bond yields fell to near 3-month lows after the central bank in China devalued its currency this week.
The 10-year Treasury bond yield fell from 2.23% Monday to around 2.09% Wednesday morning.
Consumers have grown a bit pessimistic about the housing market recently. The percentage of people who believe it’s a good time to sell a home fell from 52% in June to 45% in July, according to Fannie Mae’s July 2015 National Housing Survey. The share of consumers who think it’s a good time to buy fell month over month, from 63% to 61% — a record low for the survey.
Last month’s attitudes may have been influenced by the Greek debt crisis and China’s stock market decline, says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae.
“Most of our key indicators are as strong (as) or stronger than they were at this time last year, which is indicative of an improving housing market this year,” Duncan says in a statement.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.04% from 4.1%, according to Bankrate.com’s Aug. 12 survey of large lenders. A year ago, the rate was 4.27%. Four weeks ago, it was 4.17%. The mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.24 discount and origination points. Over the past 52 weeks, the 30-year fixed rate has averaged 4.03%. This week’s rate is 0.01 percentage points higher than the 52-week average.
The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.26% from 3.28%.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgage fell to 4% from 4.02%.
The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.2% from 3.24%.
