Mortgage Rates: Home Loans Just Got Cheaper

January 7, 2016 by Lorraine Woellert

Updated on October 6th, 2020

Didn’t we tell you not to fear the Fed? The average rate on 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week, reaching 3.97 percent after ticking up to 4.01 percent at the end of 2015, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey.At this time last year, 30-year, fixed-rate loans averaged 3.73 percent.

With the exception of last week, mortgage rates have been below 4 percent since July.

Why did they fall? Political and stock market turmoil–which we’ve had in spades–causes banks and investors to seek a safe harbor for their money and the U.S. mortgage market is one place they run. In the simplest terms, when more people are rushing to give you a home loan, you usually can negotiate a lower price.

This week, homeowners and buyers benefited from that global flight to safety.

Mortgage Rate Watch: Home Loans Just Got Cheaper

Lorraine Woellert

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