Mortgage rates fell to a new low this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 2.98%, down from 3.03% the previous week and down from 3.81% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
That’s the lowest average rate for a 30-year in the survey’s history dating back to 1971.
“Mortgage rates fell below three percent for the first time in 50 years,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement. “The drop has led to increased homebuyer demand and, these low rates have been capitalized into asset prices in support of the financial markets. However, the countervailing force for the economy has been the rise in new virus cases which has caused the economic recovery to stagnate, and this economic pause puts many temporary layoffs at risk of ossifying into permanent job losses.”
For the week ended July 16, the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.48%, down from 2.51% the previous week and down from 3.23% a year ago.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.06%, up from 3.02% last week but down from 3.48% a year ago.