Mortgages drop on flurry of bad news

WASHINGTON — Fixed-rate mortgage rates sank to new lows for the year this week.

According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average tumbled to 3.78 percent with an average 0.5 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.) It was 3.82 percent a week ago and 3.44 percent a year ago.

The 30-year fixed rate hasn’t been this low since early November.

The 15-year fixed-rate average slid to 3.08 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 3.12 percent a week ago and 2.76 percent a year ago. The five-year adjustable rate average edged up to 3.15 percent with an average 0.4 point. It was 3.14 percent a week ago and 2.81 percent a year ago.

With another potentially catastrophic hurricane bearing down on the United States and global tensions running high with North Korea, investors are apprehensive about the economic impacts of these events. These concerns have whetted their appetite for long-term bonds, driving yields to their lowest levels since the presidential election. The yield on the 10-year Treasury plunged to 2.07 percent Tuesday, falling from a yearly high of 2.62 percent in March.

Because mortgage rates tend to follow the same path as long-term bonds, home loan rates also fell.

Mortgage rates have been in a five-week skid, but some observers expect the downturn is about to halt. About a third of the experts surveyed by Bankrate.com said home loan rates would remain relatively stable in the coming week.