Mortgage rates decreased for a fourth straight week as the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dipped to 4.06%, down from 4.07% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 30-year was 4.66%.
“Mortgage rates fell for the fourth consecutive week and continued the medium-term trend of lower rates since late 2018,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement. “The drop in mortgage rates is causing purchase demand to rise and the mix of demand is skewing to the higher end as more affluent consumers are typically more responsive to declines in rates.”
For the week ended May 23, the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.51%, down from 3.53% the previous week.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 15-year 4.15%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.68%, up from 3.66%.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a five-year ARM was 3.87%.