Government efforts to provide easier credit to consumers and jump-start flagging home sales could push mortgage rates 'well below 4%,' a federal regulator has said.

James Lockhart, whose agency oversees government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, made the comments at a meeting of Women in Housing & Finance, an industry group. He did not say how long it would take to achieve such a drop and has declined to provide a firm target for mortgage rates.

Washington Post