At their December 9-10 meeting, Fed officials agreed to cut their key interest rate by a quarter point for the third time this year, to about 3.6%, the lowest in nearly three years.

The average long-term mortgage rate dipped to 6.15% from 6.18% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday. That’s the lowest average long-term rate since October 3, 2024 when it dipped to 6.12% before shooting back up. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.91%.