This late in the summer, the home buying season usually starts to wind down. The kids are back in school. Vacation days are mostly gone. Home shoppers traditionally slow down. But this year, the housing market is getting a double shot of espresso thanks to some of the lowest mortgage rates on record. This week, nationwide home finance rates averaged 3.55% for 30-year loans -- the lowest cost in three years. The lowest long-term mortgage average Freddie Mac has ever recorded in its weekly nationwide survey was 3.41% in mid 2016. "The drop in mortgage rates continues to stimulate the real estate market and the economy," Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in the new report. "Home purchase demand is up five percent from a year ago and has noticeably strengthened since the early summer months, while refinances surged to their highest share in three and a half years.
- Dallas Morning News, August 23, 2019
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