Mortgage Rates Slide to Lowest Since May: Freddie Mac

The interest rate on the most common type of U.S. home loan fell for a ninth straight week this week to close out the year at their lowest level since May, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac. The interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.61 percent as of Dec. 28, down from 6.67 percent a week earlier. The rate has declined each week since hitting the highest level in 22 years in late October, tumbling 1.18 percentage points in that span. Rates, which had tumbled to below 3 percent during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, had surged starting in 2022 when the Federal Reserve began an aggressive rate hiking campaign to rein in inflation....