Even as interest rates tread water, the housing market could get a second wind

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“It’s Groundhog Day for mortgage rates, as they have remained virtually flat for over two months,” Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said in a report. For over two months now, interest rates have barely budged, remaining well below 3%.

Mortgage rates continue to move within a very narrow band, as the housing market could be primed for another surge in interest from prospective home buyers.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped seven basis points over the past week to an average of 2.12%. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage rose by nine basis points to an average of 2.51%. Part of the problem for investors right now is they can’t make heads or tails of what the Fed’s next move might be — or when it will come. “A softer-than-expected August inflation reading this week likely lowered the odds that the Fed announces any immediate moves to tighten policy at their upcoming September conference, but the fact that interest rates haven’t moved much in recent weeks indicates that investors are still waiting for more certainty,” said Zillow ZG, +1.61% Z, +2.

The number of new listings on the market increased 2% over the past week, a bounce back from the prior week when there was a decline in newly-listed homes. The inventory of homes for sale is still down 22% from a year ago, but the number of homes listed has increased for 21 of the last 25 weeks, giving buyers more breathing room.

 

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