Fixed mortgage rates decreased during the week ended Oct. 8 following a particularly weak September jobs report, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The report says fixed mortgage rates averaged below 4% for the 11th consecutive week, including the 15-year fixed rate falling below 3% for the first time since April.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.76%, down from 3.85% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.19%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 2.99%, down from last week's 3.07%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.36%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.88%, down from 2.91% the previous week. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 3.06%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.55%, up from 2.53% the previous week. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.42%.
‘Calling the September jobs report disappointing is an understatement. The sputtering U.S. economy added only 142,000 jobs,’ says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac's chief economist. ‘To make matters worse, there were downward revisions to the prior two months. Hourly wages were flat, and the labor force participation rate fell to 62.4 percent – the lowest rate since 1977. In response, Treasury yields dipped below two percent, triggering a nine-basis-point tumble in the 30-year mortgage rate to 3.76 percent.’