Mortgage rates fall after Fed announcement

Mortgage rates fell 7 basis points this week from their highest levels of the year, according to Freddie Mac.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.23% for the week ending March 23, down from last week when it averaged 4.3%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.71%.

"This marks the greatest week-over-week decline for the 30-year mortgage rate in over two months, a stark contrast from last week's jump following the [Federal Open Market Committee] announcement," said Sean Becketti, chief economist at Freddie Mac.

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The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.44%, down from last week when it averaged 3.5%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year averaged 2.96%.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.24%, down from last week when it averaged 3.28%. At this time last year it averaged 2.89%.

"The 10-year Treasury yield fell about 10 basis points this week. The 30-year mortgage rate moved with Treasury yields and dropped 7 basis points," Becketti added.

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