After rising slightly the previous week, mortgage rates ticked back down again during the week ended Feb. 4, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.59%, down from 3.66% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.32%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 2.92%, down 2.98% the week prior. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.40%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.82%, down from 2.86%. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 3.12%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.39%, up from 2.38% the previous week. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.55%.
‘Mortgage rates fell this week following the release of weaker than expected pending home sales, which fell 3.7 percent in December,’ says Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. ‘Moreover, real GDP growth for the fourth quarter was 2.6 percent, and the Institute for Supply Management reported slower growth in manufacturing last month – both missing market consensus forecasts.’