Mortgage rates edged downward this week as the market anticipated Wednesday's release of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting, Freddie Mac reported.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped two basis points
Similarly, the average rate for a 15-year FRM dropped a single basis point to 2.74% on a weekly basis and 41 basis points year-over-year.
The average rate for the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage however rose two basis points to 2.76%. Still, that figure is down from the average rate of 2.94% last year.
"Ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes for July, 10-year Treasury yields were little changed from the prior week," Freddie Mac chief economist Sean Becketti said in a news release. "For eight consecutive weeks mortgage rates have ranged between 3.41 and 3.48 percent. Inflation is not adding any upward pressure on interest rates as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index was unchanged in July."
