Mortgage Interest Rates Fall to Three-Month Low: Freddie Mac

The average interest rate on the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates fell this week to a three-month low, as investors exited stocks and commodities for the safety of government bonds.

The average rate for a 30-year FRM was 3.81% for the week ended Jan. 21, down from 3.92% one week prior , Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. It was the lowest since late October. The average 15-year rate fell to 3.1% from 3.19%.

The collapse of oil prices, which are at a 12-year low, and anxieties over falling stocks drove down yields for the government bonds that guide mortgage costs. Yields on the benchmark 10-year note declined to their lowest level since October.

The housing recovery lost momentum toward the end of 2015. New-home construction in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in December, dropping 2.5% to a 1.15 million annualized rate, according to a Commerce Department report Wednesday. Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes slumped in November, declining 0.9% after a revised 0.4% gain the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said.