Mortgage Rates Take A Dive

Today's data from Freddie Mac, shows the 30-year fixed-rate average dropping to 4.06%, and the average point charge falling to 0.5. The change in the fixed rate was the largest one week drop in ten years. The previous rate was 4.28% and a year ago the rate was 4.4%. The current rate is at its lowest level in 14 months.
The 15-year fixed-rate average sank to 3.57 percent, with an average 0.4 point. It was 3.71 percent a week ago and 3.9 percent a year ago. The five-year adjustable-rate average dropped to 3.75 percent, with an average 0.3 point. It was 3.84 percent a week ago and 3.66 percent a year ago.
Rates have fallen substantially in the past four months. After hitting a seven-year high of 4.94 percent in November, the 30-year fixed-rate average has gone down nearly a percentage point, falling 88 basis points. (A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.)
Global and domestic economic concerns are driving rates lower. The Federal Reserve’s announcement last week that it was taking a cautious approach to increasing its benchmark rate and unwinding its balance sheet rattled investors, which were already concerned about Brexit, the U.S.-China trade war, and slowdowns in the German and Japanese economies.

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