QE3 Helps Average 30-Year Survey Rate Set a New Record Low

Freddie Mac’s latest rate survey bears out earlier accounts this week showing long-term mortgage rates have dropped notably in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s third round of quantitative easing.

Fixed mortgage rates broke their previous record lows, according to Freddie Mac’s survey for the week ending Sept. 27, which shows the average 30-year rate is down nine basis points week-to-week at 3.4% and the average 15-year rate is down four basis points at 2.73%.

Rates for shorter-term loans also dropped, with the average for the five-year Treasury indexed hybrid down five basis points at 2.71% and the average for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage down a basis point at 2.6%.

Average points as usual were lowest for one-year Treasury ARMs at 0.4, and were 0.6 for all other types of mortgages in Freddie’s survey.

Year-ago weekly rate averages in the survey were as follows: 4.01% for 30-year loans, 3.28% for 15-year loans, 3.02% for five-year Treasury hybrids and 2.83% for one-year Treasury ARMs.