US mortgage rates fall to a record low for the 3rd time since March

Carmen Reinicke

May 28, 2020 7:41 PM

The average rate for the standard 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.15% on Thursday, according to Freddie Mac . It's a record low for the US mortgage rate.

House for sale

It's also the third time that US mortgage rates have hit a record low since March rates fell toprevious records of 3.23% in April and 3.29% in March .
The low rates could help the housing market recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
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US mortgage rates have again slumped to a new record low for the third time since March, when the coronavirus pandemic began to whiplash global markets.

The average rate for the standard 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.15% on Thursday, according to Freddie Mac . It's the lowest rate seen since the survey began in 1971. The measure also hit previous records of 3.23% in April and 3.29% in March .

The coronavirus pandemic began to roil global markets in March, sending investors fleeing from stocks and piling into safer assets such as bonds and gold. Mortgage rates began to slip as they take cues from long-term US Treasury bond yields, which reached record lows in March.

Mortgage rates have stayed at record lows since as the Federal Reserve is holding its benchmark interest rate near zero as part of its efforts to boost the US economy from the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the central bank is buying mortgage bonds as a part of its stimulus measures, which has helped keep loans cheap for consumers.

The low rates will likely help the housing market rebound. In April, pending home sales fell to the lowest level since 2001 , but there are signs that demand is returning even as unemployment remains elevated.

Last week, applications to purchase a home jumped again for the sixth week in a row, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Wednesday report. The MBA's index is up 54% from early April and now at its highest level since January.

"The housing market is continuing its path to recovery as various states reopen, leading to more buyers resuming their home search," said Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

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