Mortgage rates have fallen to around their lowest levels in eight months, offering a potential boost to the housing market after a rough patch in recent months.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.51%, matching the lowest level since last spring, according to data released Thursday by mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac . That rate is still higher than its level of 3.95% from a year ago but has fallen from a more-than-seven-year high of nearly 5% last fall.

The decline stands to give consumers another shot at obtaining low rates on loans to purchase or refinance their homes, if they can stomach volatile financial markets and still lofty home values.

“I think there is latent demand on the sidelines given where rates are today,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The problem is that volatility is the obstacle.”

Rising rates choked off a boom in refinancings and damped the purchase market for much of 2018, slowing the pace of home-price growth. The rate on a standard 30-year mortgage tends to closely follow the 10-year Treasury yield, which also hit a seven-year high of 3.23% last fall. On Friday, it finished at 2.66%.