In September, rates plunged to a two-year low, falling as far as 5.89%. But over the following three-plus months, the average surged almost 1.25 percentage points—before recently easing lower.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage slipped to 6.95% this week, Freddie Mac says, almost unchanged. The Army helicopter in the DC plane crash was made by CT-based Sikorsky. The announcement did not specify the total number of job cuts or whether any of