The post Mortgage Rates Tick Down to 6.85% as Spring Selling Season Approaches appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

The U.S. government may soon return Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to private markets less than two decades after turmoil nearly toppled the mortgage industry.

Two mortgage giants essential to the U.S. housing market could be released from the government into the private sector. What that means for you.

U.S. mortgage rates dropped for another consecutive week. That's the word from Freddie Mac, which released its latest data. Freddie Mac reports the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.85% for the week ending Feb. 20 — down from 6.87% last week. A year ago, mortgage rates averaged 6.90%.

Housing observers see an opportunity to fundamentally remake a system to close the gap on serving historically marginalized communities.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac support the U.S. mortgage market. The two were placed into a strict form of government oversight called "conservatorship" in 2008 as the global financial crisis mounted. This has at times limited Fannie's and Freddie's ability to raise capital.

Last year, there were 1.37 million housing starts, according to Aaron Jodka, research director for U.S. capital markets at Colliers. That’s the 11th consecutive year with at least 1 million starts. The shift is the balance between multifamily (properties with at least five units) and single-family homes.

Many experts say privatizing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae could significantly alter the mortgage market. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac help keep the mortgage market stable by buying home loans, selling mortgage-backed securities and establishing lending guidelines.

Last month Freddie Mac released projections for multifamily originations that painted an optimistic picture of the market's resilience. Despite facing the highest levels of new supply since the 1980s, the agency described vacancy rates as "relatively constant" and rent growth as "modest," while characterizing demand as "exceptional."

But the company took a credit loss provision in the fourth quarter, deciding to add to its reserves because of new mortgage acquisitions to its portfolio.