Mortgage Rates Holding Steady With Demand On The Rise
Summary
"Mortgage rates have stabilized at very low levels over the last few weeks, as homebuyer demand slowly improves," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. Also contributing to the decline in rates, which fell sharply on Wednesday, were comments made by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell , in which he offered a more pessimistic economic outlook and shed light on the risks posed by drawn-out recessions. The gloomy remarks led investors to seek out the safety of Treasuries, movements that generally push mortgage rates lower. This weeks figure brings the total number of newly unemployed Americans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to roughly 36.5 million. "Furthermore, as of April 25, around 3.5 million individuals were reported to be claiming benefits available from emergency compensation programs enacted as part of the CARES Act.