Mortgage rates ticked down for a fifth straight week during the week ending May 29, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.12%, down from 4.14% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.81%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.21%, down from 3.25% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.98%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.96% unchanged from last week. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 2.66%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.41%, down from 2.43% the week prior. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.54%.
‘Fixed mortgage rates eased a bit for the fifth consecutive week as reports that existing- home sales are up 1.3 percent but not as much as expected,’ says Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. ‘However, new home sales rose 6.4 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, which followed an upward revision of 11,000 units for the prior two months.
‘Also, as the spring home buying season continues, we see stronger consumer confidence as house prices remain on the rise,’ Nothaft adds. ‘The Conference Board reported that confidence among consumers rose in May after dipping in April. Meanwhile, the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite index rose 0.9 percent in March, above the consensus forecast.’