FOLLOW US

US mortgage rates posted their largest one-week drop since 2008, Freddie Mac recently reported. 

The average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage plummeted to 5.30% on Thursday, down from 5.70% the week prior. It's on its way to its biggest weekly drop since late 2008. A year ago, the average 30-year rate stood at 2.90%. 

"While the drop provides minor relief to buyers, the housing market will continue to normalize if home price growth materially slows due to the combination of low housing affordability and an expected economic slowdown," Freddie Mac economist Sam Khater said in a blog post. 

Mortgage rates are likely to continue falling as investors find safety in assets like US Treasuries. Mortgage rates are closely tied to yields on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note, which was 3% lower on Friday as risks of the US economy falling into a recession increases. Bond prices and yields move inversely to each other, so when demand for the asset goes up, the yield falls. 

.In a recent National Housing Survey conducted by the Federal National Mortgage Association, homebuyers expressed they are heavily feeling the pinch, with 80% of consumers saying it is never been a worse time to buy a home in the current environment.

The prior jump in mortgage rates and home prices even prompted one economist to consider that mortgage applications are in a "meltdown." 

With further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve around the corner, however, homebuyer sentiment is likely to remain depressed even as mortgage rates are on the decline.