Mortgage interest rates hit bottom again, with the 30-year term falling to 3.79%

Mortgage interest rates hit the bottom again, with the 30-year term falling to 3.79%. Mortgage interest rates have hit record lows for three consecutive weeks. According to the mortgage company Freddie Mac (Fred…

Mortgage interest rates hit the bottom again, with the 30-year mortgage rate falling to 3.79%. Mortgage interest rates have hit the lowest record for three consecutive weeks. According to a weekly survey by the mortgage company Freddie Mac., the U.S. 30-year and 15-year mortgage fixed interest rates fell by 0.04% and 0.01% respectively. The most popular 30-year mortgage in the U.S. has dropped to 3.79%, 0.04% below last year’s average. On a $100,000 mortgage, the new low could save borrowers $50 per month, for a total savings of $21,874 over the 30-year term. The 15-year fixed rate on most home refinances is now down to 3.04%, down from 3.82% a year ago. For a $100,000 loan, borrowers are paying $693 per month, which is $38 less than last year. According to Freddie Mac chief economist Noshaft, although the U.S. economic index is not performing badly, with industrial output, consumer confidence index and the number of new homes all growing, the shadow of continued economic turmoil in Europe still lingers, causing U.S. Treasury bill yields and mortgage interest rates to fall again. Falling home prices, coupled with affordable mortgage rates, should help stimulate the U.S. housing market, which is now nearly half what it was at the height of the housing bubble in mid-2006, when the median home price in the U.S. was $250,000 and the 30-year mortgage rate was 6.75%. A homeowner who bought a house in 2006, assuming a 20% down payment, would have paid $1,300 per month. Today, the median home price is $162,000, and a homeowner at this price would pay only $600 per month, about half less.