The numbers don't add up.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reports the rate on the 30-year fixed hit a new record lowof 4.12 percent, at the exact moment that cohort Fannie Mae released its August housing survey showing ever more Americans are pessimistic about the housing market. 27 percent of those surveyed said home prices would drop further and 22 percent expect their financial situations to worsen over the next year. Those are the highest levels for both indicators since August of last year.
So if more Americans can save more money by refinancing their mortgages (likely their single largest debt), and more Americans can potentially buy a home, given the low rates, then why are they so pessimistic about housing going forward as well as their personal finances? I got the answer loud and clear when I Tweeted the new low rates.
"If you can get it," went the first Mention. "Too bad nobody can access them," Tweeted another on the low rates. You get the picture. Low rates are great, if you can qualify. Most today can't because they either have no equity left in their current home or they don't have the credit score or down payment required to get that great rate.