Updated: Boston Real Estate Blog 2023
Byline – John Ford Boston Condo Broker
Boston condo mortgage rates: what’s next?
Boston Condos for Sale and Apartments for Rent
Boston condo mortgage rates: what’s next?
Boston condo mortgage rates: what’s next?
Boston condo mortgage rates: what’s next? Its not good news. Mortgage rates hit the highest level in more than 20 years. And those high mortgage rates are pushing monthly Boston condo payments higher than they’ve ever been.
A new report from Redfin found that it isn’t just sky-high mortgage rates increasing home prices, which is bad enough. Unfortunately, despite rising inventory, there still aren’t enough Boston condos for sale to meet the demand and even though listings are growing, the number of homes for sale is still down 14% from last year.
For the week ending Sept. 28, mortgage rates were 7.31%, the highest they’ve been in nearly 23 years and up from 6.7% a year ago.
Why are Boston Condo Mortgage Rates Rising?
The main reason, The Fed hinted that another interest rate hike before the end of the year is likely, the latest job market data came in stronger than expected, and the yield curve is steepening as investors prepare for higher rates for longer
Secondly, the turmoil in Congress isn’t helping, either, as the clash among House Republicans stemming from the narrowly missed government shutdown is causing volatility in stock and bond markets.
Good News for Boston Condo Buyers
The good news is there is some hope for Boston condo buyers. The report found more homeowners are listing after months of declines, as new listings rose 3% in September, helping stem the traditional fall decline in inventory.
Similar to last month, the rise in mortgage rates and growing home prices aren’t deterring potential buyers, but they will have to pay a premium.
As has been the case for most of the year, homeowners continue to hang onto their low mortgage rates. That’s causing continued big drops in inventory, as the total number of homes for sale is down 14% from last year.
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Mortgage rates continue to decline as the housing market gets ready for the spring homebuying season, extending a recent run of lower rates that many experts expect to continue for the rest of the year.
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What indeed! There are more questions than answers right now. Some say the bank failures are evidence that the Fed’s tough interest rate policies have “broken something,” and they must now dial back their intensity.
Others say the Fed knew some things would “break” and that they’ll only dial back if lower inflation says they can. To that, others say that inflation is even more likely to move down now that people are worried about the banking system and a recession.
And to that I say we just don’t know yet. All we do know is that these bank failures are very different than those seen before the financial crisis in several important ways. We also know the Fed/FDIC/Treasury stepped in with a non-taxpayer-funded plan to calm the market, and it seems to generally be working today.
If the market is calmer, then why are rates still so much lower? This has to do with the market shifting its expectations for Fed rate hikes in the rest of 2023. Specifically, the market now sees the Fed hitting a ceiling rate that’s more than 1.5% lower than it was at the beginning of last week!
If that continues to be the case in the coming days, mortgage rates could move down even more. We’ll learn more about those odds at two key moments: tomorrow morning at 8:30am Eastern Time when we get the next major inflation report, and then next Wednesday afternoon when the Fed releases its latest policy announcement.
https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/markets/mortgage-rates-03132023
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Updated: Boston Real Estate Blog 2023
Byline – John Ford Boston Condo Broker
