Mortgage rates fell this week as investors acted on Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo's doubts on an interest rate increase occurring before the end of the year.
According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending Oct. 22, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.79% from 3.82% the week prior. Meanwhile, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 2.98% from 3.03%.
But at the same time, hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages trended up. The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM averaged 2.89%, a one-basis-point increase week-over-week and the one-year Treasury-indexed ARM rose 8 basis points to 2.62%.
Lower Treasury yields as a result of Tarullo's remarks last week dragged mortgage rates down, Freddie Mac's chief economist Sean Becketti said in an Oct. 22
"The housing market continues to benefit from low mortgage rates, with housing starts for September beating expectations and the NAHB's Housing Market index registering a 10-year high in October," he added.
