Mortgage rates stay relatively even, still at or near record lows

Fixed mortgage rates tie record lows

Mortgage rates showed little movement this week, as fixed mortgage rates matched all-time record lows, Freddie Mac said in its weekly mortgage report.

According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, average mortgage rates for both 30-year and 15-year fixed loans tied previously established record lows.

Average rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages stayed even week-over-week at 3.66 percent, while average rates for 15-year fixed mortgages dropped slightly to 2.94 percent from 2.95 percent the previous week.

“Mortgage rates were virtually unchanged this week hovering at or near record lows and should further help to support a recovering housing market,” Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement. “Both the S&P/Case Shiller® 20-city composite and the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price indexes showed over a 0.5 percent monthly increase in April.”

One year ago at this time, 30-year fixed mortgages averaged 4.51 percent, and 15-year fixed mortgages averaged 3.69 percent.

Nothaft also pointed to two other metrics to support the idea of a current housing market recovery: Both pending existing home sales and new home sales rose to levels not seen in more than two years.

Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) saw little movement, as well. Average rates for 5-year ARMs rose to 2.79 percent from the previous week’s 2.77 percent average, while 1-year ARMs stayed even at an average of 2.74 percent.

One year ago at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.22 percent and 1-year ARMs averaged 2.97 percent.

Posted in: Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, Refinance, Refinance Rates

Mortgage News: This article was published on 7-2-2012 at 8:39 am.

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