30-year fixed-rate mortgage below 5%: Freddie Mac
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans at lowest on record.
CHICAGO (MarketWatch)
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans at lowest on record.
CHICAGO (MarketWatch)
Average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell below 5% this week -- the first time since the end of May, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates, released on Thursday.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.94% for the week ending Oct. 1, down from 5.04% last week and 6.10% a year ago. The mortgage hasn't been below 5% since the week ending May 28, when it averaged 4.91%.
Census courts HispanicsA new Spanish language media spot featuring journalist Maria Elena Salinas urges Hispanics to participate in the Census.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.36% this week, down from last week's 4.46% average. The mortgage averaged 5.78% a year ago. It hasn't been lower since Freddie Mac started tracking it in 1991.
The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.42%, down from 4.51% last week and 6% a year ago. And 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.49%, down from 4.52% last week and 5.12% a year ago.
To obtain the rates, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage required payment of an average 0.7 point, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage and the 5-year ARM required an average 0.6 point and the 1-year ARM required an average 0.5 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.
"Low mortgage rates are helping to stabilize home sales," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a news release. "New home sales in August rose to the highest annualized pace since September 2008 and the inventory of unsold houses fell to the lowest level since February 1983." Read about the seventh straight monthly rise in pending home sales.
Applications for mortgages fell a seasonally adjusted 2.8% for the week ending Sept. 25, compared with the week before, even though mortgage rates were more favorable, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.94% for the week ending Oct. 1, down from 5.04% last week and 6.10% a year ago. The mortgage hasn't been below 5% since the week ending May 28, when it averaged 4.91%.
Census courts HispanicsA new Spanish language media spot featuring journalist Maria Elena Salinas urges Hispanics to participate in the Census.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.36% this week, down from last week's 4.46% average. The mortgage averaged 5.78% a year ago. It hasn't been lower since Freddie Mac started tracking it in 1991.
The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.42%, down from 4.51% last week and 6% a year ago. And 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.49%, down from 4.52% last week and 5.12% a year ago.
To obtain the rates, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage required payment of an average 0.7 point, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage and the 5-year ARM required an average 0.6 point and the 1-year ARM required an average 0.5 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.
"Low mortgage rates are helping to stabilize home sales," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a news release. "New home sales in August rose to the highest annualized pace since September 2008 and the inventory of unsold houses fell to the lowest level since February 1983." Read about the seventh straight monthly rise in pending home sales.
Applications for mortgages fell a seasonally adjusted 2.8% for the week ending Sept. 25, compared with the week before, even though mortgage rates were more favorable, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
