Mortgage Rates Pull Back

March 16, 2023

Mortgage rates are down following an increase of more than half a percent over five consecutive weeks. Turbulence in the financial markets is putting significant downward pressure on rates, which should benefit borrowers in the short-term. During times of high mortgage rate volatility, homebuyers would greatly benefit from shopping for additional rate quotes. Our research concludes that homebuyers can potentially save $600 to $1,200 annually by taking the time to shop among multiple lenders.

NOTE: Freddie Mac made a number of enhancements to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey® to improve the collection, quality and diversity of data used. Instead of surveying lenders, the weekly results are now based on thousands of applications received from lenders across the country that are submitted to Freddie Mac when a borrower applies for a mortgage. Additionally, the PMMS® will no longer publish fees/points or adjustable rates. The newly recast PMMS® was put in place on November 17, 2022, and the weekly distribution is Thursdays at 12 p.m. ET.

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