Mortgage rates decreased to the lowest levels in two years this week, as the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.08%, down from 6.09% last week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 30-year was 7.31%.
“Although this week’s decline was slight, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage trended down to its lowest level in two years,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement. “Given the downward trajectory of rates, refinance activity continues to pick up, creating opportunities for many homeowners to trim their monthly mortgage payment. Meanwhile, many looking to purchase a home are playing the waiting game to see if rates decrease further as additional economic data is released over the next several weeks.”
The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.16%, up slightly from 5.15% last week.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 15-year was 6.72%.
Yesterday, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced that mortgage application volume surged 11% during the week ended September 20, driven by a decrease in rates.
Most of the increase was due to a major jump in refinance activity: Applications for refinances increased 20% compared with the previous week and were up 175% compared with the same week one year ago, according to the MBA.
Photo: Bikram Sharma
