Fixed Rates Fall as ARM Rate Jumps

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.52% to 6.45% for the seven-day period ended Aug. 30, though the one-year ARM rate jumped 24 basis points, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.18% to 6.12%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages climbed from 6.34% to 6.35%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs jumped from 5.60% to 5.84%, Freddie Mac reported. Fees and points averaged 0.5 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages, 0.6 of a point for hybrid ARMs, and 0.8 of a point for one-year ARMs. "Interest rates on conforming long-term fixed-rate mortgages declined slightly, while rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages increased by about a quarter of a percent," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "The increase in ARM rates is consistent with movement of the yields on short-term Treasury securities, which have exhibited higher volatility recently due to market uncertainties." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.44% and 6.14%, respectively, and the average hybrid and one-year ARM rates were 6.11% and 5.59%, Freddie Mac said.