Rates Will Drop, It Is Just a Matter of Time

Since the spring of this year we have seen the real estate market make a correction with the number of homes sold each month starting to cool. For quite a while the market was out of balance with regular and steep home price increases and record low rates, but now that has all changed. This is all because the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has quickly doubled this year rising to over 7% and then landing recently in the 6% range. We are starting to see now what next year may bring in terms of future rate trends.

Inflation and Interest Rates

As long as inflation is high then we will see higher mortgage rates. We have recently seen some signs that inflation may be cooling which gives us some insight into the future. Many, including the mortgage industry, are hoping for positive news. Ali Wolf, Chief Economist at Zonda, says:

“The housing market is expected to face continued uncertainty heading into 2023 as consumers, financial markets, and policymakers work through their respective challenges in today’s economy. . . . we are watching for any additional stability in the MBS market, signs of cooling inflation, and/or less aggressive Federal Reserve action to give us confidence that mortgage rates are past their peak.”

How Mortgage Rates Will Trend

As we continue to muscle through the inflation war and see it starting to come down, we can only expect that mortgage rates will follow. We have seen some indication of this over the past few weeks. As the Federal Reserve works to bring inflation down, mortgage rates will come down as well. Bill McBride from Calculated Risk says: “My current view is inflation will ease quicker than the Fed currently expects.” As we look toward 2023, we certainly hope he’s right on this. This will help fuel the market with some more buying power as we strive towards a healthy balance between buyers and sellers.