U.S. long-term mortgages fall; 30-year at 3.33%

U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week for the second straight week as anxiety has spiraled over devastation to the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.

Home-loan rates have been hitting all-time lows. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year loan dipped to 3.33% this week from 3.50%. A year ago the rate stood at 4.08%.

Freddie Mac said demand from prospective homebuyers has weakened in response to economic concerns.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 2.82% from 2.92%.

The recent declining trend in mortgage rates has been driven by investors shifting money out of the stock market and into the safety of U.S. Treasurys as the crisis in confidence caused by the global viral outbreak has worsened. The number of cases confirmed worldwide crossed the grim milestone of 1 million this week.

Long-term mortgage rates tend to track the yields on the 10-year Treasury note, so they typically fall in tandem.

Financial markets have shuddered amid a cascade of job losses and shutdowns across the globe due to the COVID-19 virus, as a severe global recession looms closer.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2UIhtRb