The average rate on a fixed-rate 30-year mortgage fell to 4.03 percent in the week ended Oct. 17, the lowest level since June 2013, according to mortgage-information website HSH.com, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Rates have hovered around that level in the days since, HSH.com says. That compares with 4.29 percent in mid-September and marks a sharp decline from the average rate in the week ended Jan. 3, when it was 4.63 percent. Declines of that magnitude can translate into tens of thousands of dollars in savings through lower monthly payments over the course of a 30-year mortgage—and potentially even greater savings on jumbo mortgages. As interest rates have fallen, demand for home loans has surged. Mortgage applications jumped nearly 12 percent in the week ended Oct. 17 compared with a week prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, a lenders trade group.
