The interest rate for the most popular U.S. home loan dropped to 6.61% last week, the lowest rate since October, giving a boost to mortgage applications even as global stocks tumbled in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to impose sweeping tariffs on trading partners the world over.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. declined for the third week in a row, another positive move for prospective homebuyers during what’s traditionally the housing market’s busy season.

Mortgage brokers told the BBC that if so-called swap rates, which lenders use to price loans, stay as they are then some mortgage rates may fall to as low as 3.79% in the coming weeks.