The Line: Mortgage Rates Remain New Three-Year Low

This week, we present the latest on mortgage rates, home sales, and the value of property in New York City

Mortgage Rates Remain New Three-Year Low

The average 30-year conforming mortgage rate ticked up to 6.09% this week, slightly higher than the previous week but still near a three-year low. Rates began to rise on Monday, due to tensions between the US and the EU over Greenland. Rates then came down after President Trump said he would not use military force to acquire Greenland. This goes to show how quickly rates can move, especially when there is political turmoil. The bottom line is that mortgage rates are almost 1% lower than a year ago, and that is great news for the housing market.

Pending Home Sales Down Sharply in December

Pending home sales, which are based on signed contracts to purchase existing homes, fell 9.3% last month and were 3% lower than a year ago. The decline was due to a combination of a 9% drop in inventory from November and economic and political uncertainty. Hopefully, more buyers will step into the market now that rates have drifted lower, but the biggest obstacle to more home sales remains inventory.

Property Values Up 5.4% in NYC

The NYC Department of Finance has released its tentative assessment roll for fiscal year 2027, which showed a 5.4% increase in the market value of all properties to $1.66 trillion. Here are some other highlights from the DOF’s report:

• Brooklyn posted a 7.4% increase in real estate values, the most of any borough.
• Rent-regulated apartment buildings saw an 8.5% jump in their market value, surprising given the small increase in regulated rents over the past few years.
• Co-op values rose 4.6%, while condos increased by 4%.

Property taxes are NYC’s biggest source of tax revenue, accounting for over 40% of tax collections.