U.S. mortgage 30-year average at 6.60%

Yahoo Finance’s daily mortgage tracker showed a 6.60% average 30-year fixed rate on Wednesday, August 5, while the 15-year fixed stood at 6.09%, according to the outlet’s personal-finance page. CNBC reported the broader weekly market was firmer, citing Mortgage Bankers Association data showing the average contract rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage with conforming balances rose to 6.81% in the week ended July 31 from 6.76% a week earlier. Those two numbers are not a contradiction. Yahoo Finance’s daily figures reflect lender quotes shown to borrowers on a given day, while the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey tracks contract rates attached to mortgage applications filed in the prior week. Freddie Mac, which publishes a separate weekly benchmark based on loan application data submitted through its Loan Product Advisor system, said its survey is typically released on Thursdays. (finance.yahoo.com) ### Why are there two different 30-year mortgage rates in circulation? The 6.60% figure comes from daily lender pricing, which can move from one day to the next as Treasury yields, lender margins and borrower demand shift. Yahoo Finance said the 30-year fixed rate was down 4 basis points from the prior day on August 5. The 6.81% figure comes from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 31. (finance.yahoo.com) CNBC said that rate applied to 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $832,750 or less. MBA Newslink separately said total mortgage applications fell 2.9% from the previous week. ### What did higher weekly rates do to borrower demand? (finance.yahoo.com) CNBC reported refinance applications fell 2% from the prior week and were 9% lower than the same week a year earlier. Purchase applications, a gauge of homebuying demand, dropped 4% week over week and were 3% lower than a year earlier, CNBC said. MBA Newslink said application volume for both refinance and purchase loans declined in the latest survey week. (cnbc.com) Realtor.com, citing the same MBA data, said the 6.81% average was above Freddie Mac’s 6.66% weekly estimate for the week ended July 30. ### Where does Freddie Mac’s benchmark stand? Freddie Mac’s archived weekly survey shows the 30-year fixed mortgage average at 6.66% for the week ended July 30, with the 15-year fixed at 6.04%. (cnbc.com) FRED, the St. Louis Fed’s data portal, lists the same July 30 reading in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey series. Yahoo Finance video coverage published Wednesday said Freddie Mac’s 30-year average had dropped to 6.60%, describing it as the lowest point since late October. (newslink.mba.org) That figure appears to refer to the next Freddie Mac update due on August 6, but Freddie Mac’s official survey page says weekly results are published on Thursdays unless a U.S. holiday shifts the schedule. ### What should readers watch next? (mortgagenewsdaily.com) Thursday, August 6, is the next scheduled Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey release date, based on the company’s publication calendar. That update will provide the next official weekly 30-year and 15-year averages and offer a fresh read on whether the daily softening seen on August 5 is carrying into the weekly data. (freddiemac.com) (finance.yahoo.com)