Mortgage rates tapped the pause button in the week ending Sept. 5. They’ve fallen more than a percentage point in the last four months, and lots of people are waiting for them to drop even more before they press play.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged from the previous week, averaging 6.27%. A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point. Mortgage rates hardly moved because it was a short week without much market-moving economic data. The week’s average was calculated a day before the release of the August employment report.
Rates have fallen a lot since May
In the first week of May, the average rate on the 30-year mortgage stood at 7.32% — a little more than a percentage point higher than it was this week, just four months later. The timing is unfortunate: The traditional homebuying season runs from May through August, and it began with rates north of 7%.
Rates at the beginning of homebuying …