Mortgage Rates, Tue, Feb 20 | Higher - NerdWallet (2024)

FAQs

Are interest rates expected to go down in 2024? ›

The general consensus among industry professionals is that mortgage rates will slowly decline in the last quarter of 2024. The projected declines have shrunk, though, in recent months. At the start of the year, for instance, Fannie Mae predicted rates would drop to 5.8%.

If inflation falls significantly and the economy enters a deep recession, it is possible that mortgage rates could fall back to 3%. However, this scenario is considered unlikely by most economists.

Here's where three experts predict mortgage rates are heading: Around 6% or below by Q1 2025: "Rates hit 8% towards the end of last year, and right now we are seeing rates closer to 6.875%," says Haymore. "By the first quarter of 2025, mortgage rates could potentially fall below the 6% threshold, or maybe even lower."

Projected Interest Rates in the Next Five Years

ING's interest rate predictions indicate 2024 rates starting at 4%, with subsequent cuts to 3.75% in the second quarter. Then, 3.5% in the third, and 3.25% in the final quarter of 2024. In 2025, ING predicts a further decline to 3%.

But until the Fed sees evidence of slowing economic growth, interest rates will stay higher for longer. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is expected to fall to the mid-6% range through the end of 2024, potentially dipping into high-5% territory by the end of 2025.

Over the past two years, a combination of high mortgage rates, low housing inventory and sluggish wage growth has crippled affordability for homebuyers. While many are holding out for mortgage rates to fall, it's unlikely we'll see 2% mortgage rates any time soon. In fact, experts hope we don't.

Overall, forecasters predict mortgage rates to continue easing, but not as much as previously thought. While McBride had expected mortgage rates to fall to 5.75 percent by late 2024, the new economic reality means they're likely to hover in the range of 6.25 percent to 6.4 percent by the end of the year, he says.

Near the end of October 2022, the 30-year mortgage rate jumped from 6.94% to 7.08%, according to Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Prior to that, the last time the average mortgage rate hovered around 7% was in April of 2002.

Is 7% a high mortgage rate? ›

Freddie Mac reports the following averages with mortgage rates for the week ending April 18: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 7.1%, increasing from last week's 6.88% average. A year ago, 30-year rates averaged 6.39%. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: average 6.39%, rising from last week's 6.16%.

2021: The lowest 30-year mortgage rates ever

And it kept falling to a new record low of just 2.65% in January 2021. The average mortgage rate for that year was 2.96%.

Mortgage rate predictions 2024

The MBA's forecast suggests that 30-year mortgage rates will fall into the 6.4% to 6.7% range throughout the rest of 2024, and Fannie Mae is forecasting the same. NAR believes rates will average 7.1% this quarter and fall to 6.5% by the end of 2024.

Once you find a rate that is an ideal fit for your budget, lock in the rate as soon as possible. There is no way to predict with certainty whether a rate will go up or down in the weeks or even months it sometimes takes to close your loan.

Auto loan rates are expected to stop rising and possibly start descending in 2024, but they'll likely remain elevated in comparison to recent years (alongside the broader interest rates environment).

The nation's top economists say the Fed is most likely to keep interest rates higher than 2.5 percent — often considered the “goldilocks,” not-too-tight, not-too-loose level for its benchmark federal funds rate — until the end of 2026, Bankrate's quarterly economists' poll found.

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