30-year mortgage rates fall below 3 percent for first time since 1971

​​​​WASHINGTON ​– ​The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.98 percent this week, falling below 3 percent for the first time since Freddie Mac began tracking the metric in April 1971.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low of 2.48 percent.

Rates have dropped almost 2 percentage points over the past year and a half, helping drive up home​buying demand and keeping home prices from dropping during the COVID-19-related recession. 

For a mortgage in the amount of the national median home price (around $285,000), the rate drops this year would save a borrower more than $100 a month in payments and roughly $50,000 over the course of the loan.​