Freddie Mac: Mortgage Loan Rates Easing Back

In its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, home lending giant Freddie Mac reported that mortgage rates for fixed-rate loans have finally broken a two-month string of weekly increases.

The interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from a prior week average of 4.51% to 4.37%, still well above the rate of 3.53% in the same week a year ago.

One year ago, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate stood at 2.83%. That rate also fell this week, from 3.53% last week to 3.41%.

The interest rate on a five-year Treasury adjustable-rate mortgage loan fell from 3.26% a week ago to 3.17%, and is up from 2.69% in the same week a year ago. The one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage loan interest rate remained unchanged for the second week in a row at 2.66%, slightly lower than last year's rate of 2.69% in the same week.

According to yesterday's data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, new loan applications slipped 2.6% last week, as refinancings fell to 63% of all applications. As housing inventory rises, the still-low interest rates should encourage more buyers. Refinancings, however, are likely to remain depressed.

Filed under: Housing