Answer: c) Media effect

**Correct answer: Media effect** When mortgage rates fall to a **new recent low**, homeowners are more likely to notice the decline and refinance. That heightened attention to the rate move is the **media effect**. - **Burnout effect**: relates to borrowers who have already refinanced and are less likely to refinance again. - **Threshold effect**: borrowers refinance when rates fall below a personal trigger level. - **Threshold-media effect**: combines both personal thresholds and attention to recent lows. Here, the key clue is that 4% is a **recent low**, so the **media effect** is most likely to dominate.

Author: Manit Arora