Mortgage Rates Drop, Catching the Attention of Homebuyers
Down from 6.73% from the week before, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.60% in the week ending March 16.
According to CNN Business, after hitting a 2022 high of 7.08% in November, rates had been trending down. However, they started climbing again in February. Robust economic data suggested the Federal Reserve is not done in its battle to cool the U.S. economy and will likely continue hiking its benchmark lending rate.
But that was before several banks collapsed over the past week. This led investors to flock to the safe haven of Treasury bonds, which pushed yields down and mortgage rates have followed.