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U.S. fixed mortgage rates drop to three-year low

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Visuals

The average rates for 15- and 30-year fixed mortgage dipped to their lowest levels in three years this week, per new data from mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

The big picture: The bottom rung of the housing ladder has now ascended beyond the grasp of millions of Americans, regardless of whether they want to rent or buy, Axios' Felix Salmon reported last week. Home prices have surged in recent years.

Catch up quick: 15-year and 30-year fixed mortgage rates are continuing a steady decline that began around the new year, while hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages spiked slightly this week, per Freddie Mac.

  • "Consistently low mortgage rates" helped drive home sales higher in December, the Wall Street Journal reports.
  • "Lenders extended a greater volume of home loans in 2019 than any year since 2006," WSJ wrote, citing industry research from Inside Mortgage Finance.

What they're saying: “It’s very much a historical opportunity for folks who have an existing mortgage to refinance and for credit-qualified people to lock in a low rate,” Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae, told the WSJ.

Go deeper: The housing market faces an uncertain 2020

Go deeper

Ursula Perano, Shawna Chen
Updated 43 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Trump grants flurry of last-minute pardons

Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty

President Trump issued 73 pardons and commuted the sentences of 70 individuals early Wednesday, 11 hours from leaving office.

Why it matters: It's a last-minute gift to some of the president's loyalists and an evident use of executive power with only hours left of his presidency. Axios reported in December that Trump planned to grant pardons to "every person who ever talked to me."

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Trump revokes ethics order barring former aides from lobbying

Photo: Spencer Platt via Getty

Shortly after pardoning members of Congress and lobbyists convicted on corruption charges, President Trump revoked an executive order barring former officials from lobbying for five years after leaving his administration.

Why it matters: The order, which was signed eight days after he took office, was an attempt to fulfill his campaign promise to "drain the swamp."

  • But with less than 12 hours left in office, Trump has now removed those limitations on his own aides.
Lachlan Markay
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump pardons former GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy

President Trump has pardoned Elliott Broidy, a former top Republican fundraiser who pleaded guilty late last year to conspiring to violate foreign lobbying laws as part of a campaign to sway the administration on behalf of Chinese and Malaysian interests.

Why it matters: Broidy was a deputy finance chair for the Republican National Committee early in Trump’s presidency, and attempted to leverage his influence in the Trump administration on behalf of his clients. The president's decision to pardon Broidy represents one last favor for a prominent political ally.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow