Mortgage rates continued to drop during the week ended April 20, with the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) hitting 3.97%, down from 4.08% to reach the lowest mark since November 2016, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.59%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.23%, down from 3.34% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.85%.
The average rate for a five-year, Treasury-indexed, hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.10%, down from 3.18%. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 2.81%.
“The 30-year mortgage rate fell 11 basis points this week to 3.97 percent, dropping below the psychologically important four percent level for the first time since November,” says Sean Becketti, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. “Weak economic data and growing international tensions are driving investors out of riskier sectors and into Treasury securities. This shift in investment sentiment has propelled rates lower.”