Mortgage rates seem to have found their groove these past few weeks, showing almost no change as of late, according to the primary mortgage market survey by Freddie Mac.
The 30-year, fixed rate has hovered at 3.53% for the past three weeks. This is still notably lower than last year at this time, when the rate was at 3.87%.
The 15-year, FRM also showed no change from last week, standing still at 2.77%. Last year at this time, the rate reached 3.16%.
The 5-year Treasury-indexed ARM did inch up slightly from last week’s 2.63%, up to 2.64% this week. However, this is still down from 2.82% at this time last year.
The 1-year, Treasury-indexed ARM showed the biggest change at 2.61%, up from last week when it averaged 2.53%. At this time last year, the average was 2.84%.
“Mortgage rates remain near record lows and continue to support housing demand, translating into a pick-up in home prices in most markets,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac.
He added, “The median sales price of existing homes rose 10% between fourth quarter 2011 and 2012, the largest year-over-year gain in seven years. Among large metropolitan areas, 88% saw positive annual increases in the fourth quarter, compared to 81% in the third quarter and 75% in the second. The largest gains occurred in Phoenix (34%), Detroit (31%) and San Francisco (28%).”
Bankrate data also showed the minimal change in rates over the past week.
The Bankrate 30-year, FRM edged up slightly to 3.79% from 3.76% last week. The 15-year, FRM rose from 3% last week to 3.02% this week and the 5/1 ARM dropped to 2.75% from 2.76% last week.
mhopkins@housingwire.com
