Average US 30-year mortgage rate falls to 4.09 per cent
WASHINGTON — Long-term US mortgage rates marked their third week of declines this week, after snapping a nine-week run of increases.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans fell to an average 4.09 per cent from 4.12 per cent last week. That was still sharply higher than a 30-year rate that averaged 3.65 per cent for all of 2016, the lowest level recorded from records going back to 1971. A year ago, the benchmark rate stood at 3.81 per cent.
The average for a 15-year mortgage declined to 3.34 per cent from 3.37 per cent last week.
Mortgage rates surged in the weeks since the election of Donald Trump in early November. Investors in Treasury bonds bid yield rates higher because they believe the president-elect’s plans for tax cuts and higher spending on roads, bridges and airports will drive up economic growth and inflation.