Fixed mortgage rates this week dipped to the lowest levels since June 2013, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The new lows for the year came as 10-year bond yields briefly dipped below 2%.
For the week ended Oct. 16, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.97%, down from 4.12% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.28%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.18%, down from 3.30% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.33%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.92%, down from 3.05% the week prior. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 3.07%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.38%, down from 2.42%. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.63%.
‘Mortgage rates were down sharply following the decline in the 10-year Treasury yield for the second straight week,’ explains Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. ‘Rates are at their lowest levels since June 2013 amidst continued investor skepticism regarding the precarious economic situation in Europe.’