Mortgage rates dipped for the third consecutive week during the week ending Oct. 9, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which tracks rates based on closings as opposed to advertised rates.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.12%, down from 4.19% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.23%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.30%, down from 3.36% the week prior. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.31%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.05%, down from 3.06%. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 3.05%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.42%, unchanged from the previous week. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.64%.
‘Fixed mortgage rates were down on a week filled with bleak forward projections from the Federal Reserve and concern over growth in Europe,’ says Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. ‘Despite gloomy vernacular from the Fed, mortgage purchase applications were up 2 percent on the week and the labor market added 248,000 jobs, beating expectations and lowering headline unemployment to 5.9 percent.’
Bankrate reported similar results on Oct. 8. According to Bankrate's report, which also tracks rates based on closings, mortgage rates were down for a third consecutive week, with the 30-year FRM falling to 4.18%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM dropped to 3.37%, while the rate for a jumbo 30-year FRM sank to 4.21%. The average rate for a three-year ARM fell to 3.16% and the average rate for a five-year ARM retreated to 3.27%.     Â
Bankrate attributed the decline in rates to ‘continued nervousness about slower growth in the global economy,’ which ‘has brought mortgage rates lower this year despite the Federal Reserve tapering their bond purchases.’