In 2020, the all-time-low mortgage rate record has been broken on 15 occasions or 30% of the time. This week, the 30-year, fixed-rate loan averaged 2.67%.

MCLEAN, Va. – The phrase “mortgage rates fell to record lows this week” has been overused in 2020, but it remains good news for homebuyer who can qualify for a larger mortgage loan every time it happens.

Freddie Mac has kept average-mortgage-rate records since 1971, and in 2020, the average rates dropped to a record low – and they did it 15 times, or about 30% of the weeks of the year so far.

In this week’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.67%, suggesting there’s never been a better time to buy a home – but also making it the 15th time this year that statement was correct.

“The housing market continues to surge higher and support an otherwise stagnant economy that has lost momentum in the last couple of months,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Mortgage rates are at record lows and pushing many prospective homebuyers off the sidelines and into the market.”

Khater says homebuyers remain active and optimistic, and “purchase demand shows no real signs of waning at all heading into next year.”

• The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.67% with an average 0.7 point for the week, down from last week’s average 2.71%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.73 %.
• The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.21 % with an average 0.6 point, down from last week’s 2.26%. A year ago, it averaged 3.19 %.
• The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.79% with an average 0.3 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago, it averaged 3.36%.

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