Mortgage rates decreased after staying frozen into the holidays and are now officially at the lowest level since the week of May 30, 2013, according to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The 30-year, fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.89% for the week ended Dec. 4, 2014. This is a drop from 3.97% last week and 4.46% a year ago.
Meanwhile, the 15, year, FRM sunk to 3.10%, down from last week’s 3.17% and 2013’s 3.47%.
The 5-year, Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage decreased from 3.01% a week prior to 2.94%. In 2013, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.99%.
The 1-year, Treasury-indexed ARM slightly edged down to 2.41%, compared to 2.44% a week ago and 2.59% last year.
“Mortgage rates were down across the board on a week of underwhelming economic releases. New home sales missed consensus expectations by selling at an annual pace of 458,000 units in October and the National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales dipped in October by 1.1 percent. The ADP's estimate for payroll growth in November was 208,000 jobs, under expectations of 225,000,” Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist with Freddie Mac, said.
Bankrate’s mortgage report cited rates falling for the fourth consecutive week, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate decreasing to 4.07%, down from 4.08%.
The 15-year, FRM was unchanged from last week at 3.29%, while the 5/1 ARM increased to 3.20%, up from 3.19% last week.
“Despite consistently positive data on the U.S. economy, mortgage rates have been very calm, posting a minor decrease over the past four weeks. The ongoing concerns about the global economy have not only kept a lid on long-term bond yields, but outweighed the positive news by just enough to push both bond yields and mortgage rates slightly lower,” Bankrate’s mortgage report said.
