In a new report out Thursday, the Urban Institute identified the top five forces that have contributed to the consistent downward trend of mortgage interest rates over the last year and a half.
According to Metro Trends writers Ellen Seidman and Wei Li, the five main factors are: slow growth and turmoil abroad; upheaval in the oil market; the steady improvement of the US economy; low Treasury rates; and reduced demand for mortgages.
“There certainly are forces pushing mortgage interest rates in the opposite direction, most notably the tapering of the Federal Reserve’s purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS),” Seidman and Li wrote. “But so far, these forces have not been sufficient to shop the downward trend in mortgage interest rates.”
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