After inching up slightly the previous week, fixed mortgage rates edged down again during the week ended April 23, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.65%, down from 3.67% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.33%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 2.92%, down from 2.94% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.39%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.84%, down from 2.88% the previous week. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 3.03%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.44%, down from 2.46% the previous week. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.44%.
In a release, Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac, says the dip in rates is ‘positive news for potential homebuyers in the market this spring.’
‘Purchase applications in 60 of the 100 markets that [Freddie Mac's] MiMi [report] tracks are up from the same time last year, including 20 markets that are showing double-digit increases,’ Kiefer says. ‘Reinforcing this positive momentum, existing home sales surged 6.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million units in March, the highest annual rate since September 2013. Housing inventory rose 5.3 percent to 2 million homes for sale, but unsold inventory was little changed at a 4.6 month supply.’