Mortgage rates continued to hold at near-historic lows this week, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained flat compared with the previous week at 3.60%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 30-year was 4.53%.
For the week ended April 15, the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.07%, up slightly from 3.05%.
A year ago at this time, the average rate fo a 15-year was 4.01%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.35%, down slightly from 3.36%.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a five-year ARM was 3.87%.
“The sound and fury of the financial markets continue to warn of an impending recession, however, the silver lining is mortgage demand reached a three-year high this week,” says Sam Khater, chief economist of Freddie Mac, in a statement. “The decline in mortgage rates over the last month is causing a spike in refinancing activity – as homeowners currently have $2 trillion in conventional mortgage loans that are in the money – which will help support consumer balance sheets and increase household cash flow.
“On top of that, purchase demand is up seven percent from a year ago,” Khater adds.