Mortgage rates drop to 2.98%

In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire covers Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which shows mortgage rates have now fallen below 3% for the first time ever.

For some background on the story, here’s a summary of the article:

The average mortgage rate fell to 2.98% this week, breaking the 3% threshold for the first time, as investors concerned about a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic fled to the safety of the bond markets and the Federal Reserve continued to scoop up securities backed by home loans.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to the lowest in almost five decades of data, down from 3.03% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. The average 15-year rate fell to 2.48%, the lowest in a data series going back almost 30 years, according to the mortgage financier. 

Mortgage rates have hit a series of new lows in recent weeks as investors poured money into U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds – mainly Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. Money managers are reacting to a stream of bad news about the coronavirus pandemic, with some of the nation’s biggest states setting records for new infections this week.

The Federal Reserve has continued to support the mortgage markets by purchasing about $4.5 billion a day of securities containing home loans packaged by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

Following the main story, HousingWire covers a report from Buildfax that claims June’s construction activity experienced the greatest annual decline since 2015 and data from Clever that indicates 34% more homes sold within two weeks in June this year.

The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.

HousingWire articles covered in this episode:

• Average U.S. mortgage rate falls below 3% for the first time
• June’s new construction activity sees greatest year-over-year decline since 2015
• 34% more homes sold within two weeks in June this year