Mortgage rates continued to decrease for a second week straight this past week, which should bode well for the spring home buying season.
According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, for the week ended March 26, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.69%, down from 3.78% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.40%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 2.97%, down from 3.06%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.42%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.92%, down from 2.97% the previous week. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 3.10%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.46%, unchanged from the previous week. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.44%.
Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac, points out that the drop in rates followed a decline in 10-year Treasury yields.
‘Low mortgage rates are a welcome sign for those in the market to buy a home this spring season and will help to support home buyer affordability,’ Kiefer says in a statement. ‘Existing home sales in February increased slightly, but less than expected, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million units. Meanwhile, new home sales outperformed expectations and surged 7.8 percent to an annual pace of 539,000 units.’