Mortgage rates inched down slightly during the week ended Dec. 4, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. It was the fourth consecutive week that rates posted an overall decline.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.89% – down from 3.97% the previous week to reach the lowest level since May 2013. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.46%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.10% – down from 3.17% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.47%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.94% – down from 3.01%. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 2.99%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.41% – down from 2.44% the previous week. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.59%.
‘Mortgage rates were down across the board on a week of underwhelming economic releases,’ says Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac, in a release. ‘New home sales missed consensus expectations by selling at an annual pace of 458,000 units in October and the National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales dipped in October by 1.1 percent. The ADP's estimate for payroll growth in November was 208,000 jobs, under expectations of 225,000.’
