The latest data from Freddie Mac reveals that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has dipped below the 7% threshold, settling at 6.99%. Yahoo Finance's Rebecca Chen breaks down the details, shedding light on the implications this slight relief in rates will have for the housing market.

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This post was written by Angel Smith

Video Transcript

The average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage fell to 6.99% this week as it continues to hover around that 7% mark for what the latest numbers could mean for the housing market.

Let's bring in Yahoo Finance's own Rebecca Chen for a further breakdown here.

Hey, Rebecca.

Hey, Brad.

So we have been seeing mortgage rate dropping or hovering around that 6% mark, Um, for a while now.

And as you mentioned this week, rates fall below that to 6.99%.

Um, and what is what this is doing to the housing market is is pretty clear.

There has been a sign that it is pressuring the housing market.

Simply put, data is showing us that rate is still too high for many home buyers, given today's housing prices.

Earlier this week, we saw another report on mortgage volume showing that purchasing application declined 4% and refinancing dropped 7%.

And this is quite interesting because home buyers are retreating at time.

That is the spring buying season, and typically this is supposed to be the busiest buying season in the whole year.

But instead we are seeing that drop in purchasing volume, and I think all of this has really to do with affordability.

We have seen from another report that just last month the average mortgage payment has increased by $60 for on average monthly mortgage.

And this is, um, while $60 doesn't sound like a lot, you have to think that this is nationwide in average, so many times people could be paying a lot more and sometimes a little bit less and annually.

Another report is showing us that all four regions to the US has seen affordability decline over the last 12 months.

And, you know, as we've been talking about it a lot on the show, people are really paying more out of pocket for that borrowing costs now that rates are hovering around 7% mark.