A weak jobs report was enough to send mortgage rates into a downward spiral, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending Oct. 8.
Altogether, this week's change clearly stemmed from the September jobs report, which came in well below expectations.
"Calling the September jobs report disappointing is an understatement," Freddie Mac chief economist Sean Becketti. "The sputtering U.S. economy added only 142,000 jobs…In response, Treasury yields dipped below 2% triggering a 9-basis-point tumble in the 30-year mortgage rate to 3.76%."
This week's figure remained well below last year, when it averaged 4.19%.
The 15-year FRM plummeted 8 basis points week-over-week, to an average rate of 2.99%. Last year, it averaged 3.36%.
The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage also declined, albeit by only 3 basis points from the previous week, to an average rate of 2.88%. It was still well off its average rate from last year though, which was 3.06%.
The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was the only rate to go up week-over-week, increasing 2 basis points to 2.55%. This figure stood above last year's average rate of 2.42%.
