Mortgage Rates Drop to 4.80%
According to data released today by Freddie Mac, 30-year mortgage rates fell this week to 4.80%, from 4.82% last week and 4.87% the previous week. Except for the 4.78% average during the first week of April, the 4.80% rate marks the lowest 30-year mortgage rate in history (see chart above), and is a full 4 percentage points below the 8.80% average rate since 1964.Along with falling home prices, the record-low mortgage rates are continuing to elevate housing affordability to record highs, which will help the real estate market in its recovery process this year.
2 Comments:
The trouble is this stat does not show that the standards for obtaining such mortgages have gotten considerably more strict than they were a few years back. So, there are still significant barriers for entry into the housing market for many people on the margins.
I would like to see the mortgage chart pre-1965 before the Fed started to monkey around with the gold standard, Im guessing the rates were stable and low for long stretches of time. Remember, all these interest rate swaps and credit derivatives were invented to duplicate the stability we once had on the gold standard. Thats the true story, or tragedy depending on your point of view (and profession).
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