The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked up 1 basis point the week before the tax bill passed, not including associated fees, per the latest data from Freddie Mac. The tax package is expected to feed higher deficits and inflation.
“30-year fixed mortgage rates have been bouncing around in a narrow 10 basis point range since October," Freddie’s deputy chief economist said in a release. “The majority of our survey was completed prior to the surge in long-term interest rates that followed the passage of the tax bill. If those rate increases stick, we’ll likely see higher mortgage rates in next week’s survey,” MarketWatch reports.
Lower borrowing rates have helped cushion the impact of surging home prices. The median price of previously-owned homes was $248,000 in November, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That’s up 5.8 percent compared to 2016. Analysts are forecasting lower rates of growth in prices next year, but such forecasts have fallen short in past years.
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