Mortgage rates are at their lowest for a year, paving the way for a sunny spring sales season

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Mortgage rates have dropped to their lowest level in more than a year as investors remain concerned about economic headwinds, setting up the housing market for a vigorous spring season.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was an average of 4.35% for the week of February 21, said Thursday the guarantor of the mortgage loan Freddie Mac. This was down from 4.37% the previous week and the lowest since early February 2018. The popular product recorded a weekly increase only once in 2019.

The 15-year adjustable rate mortgage averaged 3.78%, down three basis points. The five-year hybrid hybrid adjustable rate mortgage averaged 3.88%, compared to an average of 3.84%.

These rates do not include the costs associated with obtaining a mortgage loan.

Mortgage rates are getting closer to the basics with the 10-year US Treasury Bill

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although sometimes it takes a few days for the mortgage market to catch up with the bond market.

See also: The average adjustable rate mortgage is close to $ 700,000. This is what it tells us.

Bond yields, which are falling with rising prices, have been caught in "opposing currents", in the words of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Close trade negotiations between the United States and China have helped to enhance the attractiveness of assets considered safe havens. And more recently, yields have fallen, with Federal Reserve officials increasingly calling for a reduction in the pace of debt reduction on their balance sheets.

Nevertheless, investors keep a watchful eye on the supply of new Treasury bonds in the market. The massive deficits created by tax cuts and increases in spending in 2017 are funded by an increase in bond issues, and oversupply could erode demand – as well as pricing power.

For now, however, there is more buying than selling Treasurys – good news for borrowers. (This is how mortgage applications increase when rates go down, from last month.)

Even though mortgage rates behave well, there are many headwinds against potential buyers. Freedom Financial's debt consolidation company, a subsidiary of Freedom Financial, recently conducted a survey of consumer attitudes toward debt and the economy.

Survey respondents said that their combined debts – student loans, credit card balances, medical debts, and so on. – were one of the main factors that prevented them from buying a home. This was the case for 26% of Generation X members, 36% of Millennials and 35% of Generation Y members born in 1995.

Recalling the economic forces weighing on consumers, survey respondents of all ages said that affordable health care was their number one priority, followed by wage growth. Respondents ranked affordable housing third after both of these considerations.

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