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Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Mortgage rates slipped slighted but remained near 7%, as the housing market cools, according to a new study released Thursday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, best known as Freddie Mac. The agency said the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was down, averaging 6.95% as of Thursday, from last week's average of 7.08%. That new average is still more than double the 3.09% a year ago.
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The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 6.29% on Thursday, down from 6.39% last week. That total is nearly triple the 2.35% average in 2021.
"Mortgage rates continue to hover around 7%, as the dynamics of a once-hot housing market have faded considerably," Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in a statement. "Unsure buyers navigating an unpredictable landscape keeps demand declining while other potential buyers remain sidelined from an affordability standpoint.
"Yesterday's interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve will certainly inject additional lead into the heels of the housing market."
Industry watchers said the combination of higher interest rates, inflated home prices along with inflation has triggered a "fight-or-flight response" among buyers and sellers.
"Homebuyers are in a rather tough spot at the moment," Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com, told Yahoo Money. "Home prices are still very high, inventories of homes available to buy remain very thin, and mortgage rates are at 20-year highs, so conditions are pretty adverse.
"None of these conditions are likely to improve significantly for at least a while, and with the holiday season coming up, the inventory issue might even tighten further as sellers hold off for better conditions."
