Freddie Mac’s primary market survey shows 30-year mortgages, on average, dropped six basis points to another record low this week.
The survey shows the average 30-year FRM rate fell to 3.56% during the week ending July 12 from its previous record low of 3.62% last week.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie’s vice president and chief economist, cited “lackluster” employment numbers and “somewhat” of an easing in long-term Treasury yields as among the reasons for the latest drop in most rates. He also noted that minutes released from the last Federal Reserve monetary policy committee meeting show employment numbers’ weakness were the reason a few committee members expressed a need for more monetary stimulus.
The average 15-year FRM rate declined by three basis points to 2.86% in Freddie’s latest survey and the average five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid slid five basis points to 2.74%. Only the one-year Treasury adjustable-rate mortgage that is rarely used in today’s market rose, inching up by just a basis point to 2.69%.
One-year Treasury ARMs carried 0.4 of a point on average during the latest week, while five-year Treasury hybrids averaged 0.6 of a point and both types of FRMs averaged 0.7 of a point.
A year ago, weekly rate averages were as follows: 4.51% for the 30-year, 3.65% for the 15-year, 3.29% for the five-year Treasury hybrid and 2.95% for the one-year Treasury ARM.
