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What Will Mortgage Rates Do in 2024?

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Americans looking to buy houses, and even many of those looking to sell their homes, have been eagerly anticipating lower mortgage rates, and now it appears they have arrived. Jeff Ostrowski of Bankrate writes:

If you’ve been holding out for lower mortgage rates, they’re finally here. The average 30-year mortgage rate began falling from 7 percent in mid-July, and landed just under 6.5 percent as of late August.

However, mortgage rates might not fall as precipitously this month, even with the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut. With inflation cooler, the Fed is primed to cut rates at its next meeting ending Sept. 18 — the first reduction since the pandemic. While the Fed doesn’t directly set mortgage prices, it does influence them, and they’ve been trending down as cuts loom.

“Mortgage rates will trend lower in September, but it will be an uneven journey,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst. “Economic data, such as a weak jobs report, would spur more movement in mortgage rates than any response to a long-expected Fed interest rate cut.”

“Mortgage rates will bump around over the next few weeks, and I expect rates to be between 6.2 and 6.4 percent at the end of the year.,” says Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.

Action Line: Remember when you bought your first home and where the rates were? Even if you purchased when they were much higher, you must be proud you’re an owner. Try to own your home as soon as you can without debt. You’ll be happy you did. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
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