Mortgage rates edged lower this week, with the average rate for a 30-year falling to 4.41%, down from 4.46%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.32%.
The drop follows the Federal Reserve’s announcement in late January that it would not be raising the Fed funds rate at this time and that it would exercise “patience” with regard to any future rate hikes.
“The U.S. economy remains on solid ground, inflation is contained and the threat of higher short-term rates is fading from view, which has allowed mortgage rates to drift down to their lowest level in 10 months,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. “This is great news for consumers who will be looking for homes during the upcoming spring home buying season.
“Mortgage rates are essentially similar to a year ago,” he adds, “but today’s buyers have a larger selection of homes and more consumer bargaining power than they did the last few years.”
For the week ended Feb. 7, the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.84%, down from 3.89%. A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 15-year was 3.77%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.91%, down from 3.96%. A year ago at this time, the average rate for a five-year ARM was 3.57%.