Average 30-year mortgage rate drops to record 3.09 percent

May 15 (UPI) -- The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage loan fell to a record low 3.09 percent, Mortgage News Daily said Friday.

The low mortgage rate reflected a drop in the country's retail sales for April, as investors moved their money to the bond market. Rates for a 15-year fixed mortgage also hit a 52-week low of 2.74 percent while the FHA 30-year fixed dropped to 2.75 percent.

The jumbo 30-year fixed-rate remained stable at 4.34 percent.

"Not every lender is there, though, and any scenarios where the buyer has a less-than-perfect profile may not even be close to all-time lows," Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily, said. "Lenders are increasing fees for riskier borrowers due to the economic uncertainties brought on by the coronavirus and the rising number of borrowers struggling to make their monthly payments."

As of Tuesday, about 4.7 million homeowners were in forbearance plans, according to mortgage data and analytics company Black Knight. Forbearance plans allow the mortgage servicer or lender to pause or reduce homeowner's mortgage payments for a limited period of time for financial reasons.

Most of those homeowners are in a government plan set up by the first coronavirus relief legislation.