Mortgage rates have dropped below 4% for the first time since early last year, the Wall Street Journal reports, spurring hope for a housing market revival in Baton Rouge.
The average rate this week on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was at 3.99%, according to Freddie Mac—nearly a full percentage point down from the highs of November.
The mortgage rate decline brings affordability and higher levels of consumer confidence to the local housing market, says Greater Baton Rouge Mortgage Lenders Association President Anthony Williams, adding Baton Rouge is “poised to see an uptick in market activity” as a result of these factors.
Considering it’s the beginning of buying season, Assurance Financial owner Kenny Hodges says the low rates couldn’t have come at a better time for Baton Rouge homeowners looking to refinance their house or invest in home improvements.
“It’s allowing people to take advantage of the equity in their existing houses,” Hodges says, noting May was his mortgage lending company’s busiest month yet. “And it’s getting people off the fence who were thinking about moving.”
GMFS President Tee Brown isn’t seeing a significant increase in clients refinancing, since he says most did so in 2016. However, he says the opportunity to refinance is great for residents who bought a home in 2017 or 2018.
The drop comes as Baton Rouge’s residential sector gradually shifts from a seller’s to buyer’s market. As of April, the local market remains in flux, with home sales up 2.8% amid a continually rising inventory, according to data from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, which does not track mortgage rates. May figures will be released June 12.
Rates began dropping this year, sparking a local refinancing demand when they reached 4.51% in January.
