PHILADELPHIA — High mortgage rates are hammering home buyers, but expect rates to fall over the next year, one industry group says. Mortgage rates are over 7.5% as of mid-October, but expect rates to fall to 6.1% by the end of 2024, according to a forecast by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The group also expects the 30-year mortgage rate to fall to 5.5% by the end of 2025.
A big driver pushing down rates will be a slowing U.S. economy, Mike Fratantoni, chief economist and senior vice president at the MBA, said during the group’s annual convention in Philadelphia on Sunday. Not only is the group expecting a recession in the first half of 2024, but the MBA also forecasts unemployment to rise and inflation to slow, which are signs of a weakening U.S. economy. That will, in turn, push rates down, as the market will expect the Fed to back off on hiking interest rates, they said. “The Fed’s hiking cycle is likely nearing an end, but while Fed officials have indicated that additional rate hikes might not be needed, rate cuts may not come as soon or proceed as rapidly as previously expected,” Fratantoni said. Consequently, mortgage lenders could see origination volume to increase 19% in 2024, to $1.95 trillion from the $1.64 trillion expect …
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