Fixed mortgage rates were basically flat during the week ended Aug. 20, as there was little movement in financial markets, Freddie Mac reports.
According to the firm's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, fixed mortgage rates averaged below 4% for the fifth consecutive week.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.93%, down slightly from 3.94% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.10%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.15%, down from last week when it averaged 3.17%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.23%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.94%, up slightly from 2.93% the previous week. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 2.95%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.62%, unchanged from the previous week. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.38%.
‘There was little movement in financial markets this week, as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate remained steady, dropping only one basis point to 3.93 percent,’ says Sean Becketti, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. ‘Overall inflation grew an underwhelming 0.2 percent year over year in July, but core inflation remains steady at 1.8 percent keeping chances alive for a potential rate hike in September.
‘Housing markets have responded positively to low mortgage rates – the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been below four percent for five consecutive weeks,’ he continues. ‘The latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for August was 61, the highest level in more than nine years. One-unit housing starts in July 2015 jumped to 782,000 units, up 12.8 percent from June and up 19 percent from last year. Overall, housing markets remain on track for the best year since 2007.’