Fixed Mortgage Rates Drop to Below 4%

The average rate for the 30-year mortgage dropped below 4% compared with the previous week, according to a report by Freddie Mac.

For the week ended Nov. 20, 30-year FRMs had an average rate of 3.99%, down from 4.01% the week before, and 23 basis points lower than this time a year ago. Rates also dropped for 15-year FRMs by three basis points from the week before and 10 basis points from the same time a year before.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgage average interest rate dropped one basis point from last week but rose by six basis points from the year before. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 2.44%, up one basis point from last week, and down 18 basis points from the year before.

"Fixed mortgage rates were slightly down as housing starts declined 2.8% in October below the upwardly revised September rate. However, building permits increased 4.8% in October after a 2.8% boost a month earlier. Lastly, industrial production slipped by 0.1% in October, below the market consensus forecast," commented Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft in a press release.