Mortgage rates fall below 7% for the first time since August

TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets close for trading Thursday, December 14th.

Full Video Transcript Below:

J.D. DURKIN: I’m J.D. Durkin - reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks were in the green to close out today's session. The Dow closed up, the Nasdaq closed up, and the S&P closed up. This optimism comes as investors cheer positive retail sales data after November showed unexpected growth, emphasizing the strength of the U.S. consumer.

Investors are also holding out hope that the Fed could avoid triggering a recession after it unveiled plans to lower interest rates in 2024.

Turning to the housing market - mortgage rates have fallen back below 7% for the first time since August. Rates have now dropped for the seventh consecutive week and now stand at 6.95%.

And, according to Freddie Mac, rates may drop even further, with its chief economist saying, “Given inflation continues to decelerate and the Federal Reserve Board’s current expectations that they will lower the federal funds target rate next year, we likely will see a gradual thawing of the housing market in the new year.”

And, as you might expect, with rates continuing to drop, mortgage applications are on the rise. Applications have now risen for the sixth consecutive week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

But, while rates are nowhere near their August high of 7.79%, rates are still higher than they were at this time last year when they stood at 6.31%.

That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.