The average rate for a 30-year mortgage dropped 17 basis points over the past week and now measures 3.82 percent. That’s the lowest 30-year rate since the third quarter of 2017 and down over one full percentage point, or 23 percent, since the fourth quarter of last year, according to Freddie Mac’s latest Mortgage Market Survey data.
At the same time, the average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage has dropped to 3.28 percent (which is 73 basis points below its mark at the same time last year) while the average rate for a 5-year adjustable has dropped to 3.52 percent (which is 22 basis point below its mark at the same time last year) and the inverted spread between the 5 and 15 year rates has increased to 24 bps.
And the odds of the Fed easing rates by the end of this year has jumped to 98 percent according to an analysis of the futures market and which shouldn’t catch any plugged-in readers by surprise.