Mortgage rates continue to sink to new depths, seemingly shattering previous lows every week. In the week ending today, the 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were at all-time lows, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released today by Freddie Mac.

The 30-year fixed rate is 4.12 percent, down from 4.22 percent last week and 4.35 percent during the same period a year ago. The 15-year rate declined to 3.33 percent, down from 3.39 percent last week and 3.83 percent during the same week of 2010.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages matched the all-time low set last week of 2.96 percent, down from 3.56 percent last year. The one-year adjustable rate was down to 2.84 percent, also an all-time low. — Adam Fusfeld [more]

National mortgage rates are dropping sharply amid falling bond yields and signs of a weaker than expected economy, a report released today by Freddie Mac shows, with the average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage falling to its lowest level in decades.

“Treasury bond yields fell markedly after signs the economy was weaker than what markets had previously thought allowing fixed mortgage rates to follow this week with the 15-year fixed and five-year [adjustable-rate mortgage] setting new historical lows,” said Frank Nothaft, president and chief economist at Freddie Mac.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.54 percent for the week ending Aug. 4, with an average of 0.7 point, down from last week’s 3.66 percent. – Katherine Clarke [more]

The average interest rate for the five-year adjustable-rate mortgage dropped to a new record low over the past seven days, while fixed-rate mortgages remained flat on a week-over-week basis, according to the latest data from government-backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac. The five-year Treasury-indexed ARM hit 3.22 percent this week, down from 3.25 percent last week and 3.79 percent during the same week one year ago. The previous record low was 3.25 percent in November 2010. Meanwhile, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage saw an average interest rate of 4.51 percent, up only slightly from last week, when it averaged 4.5 percent, but down from last year’s 4.58 percent. – Sarabeth Sanders [more]

A slowdown in economic activity has pushed fixed-rate mortgages slightly lower for the sixth consecutive week, marking a new low for 2011, according to the most recent fixed-rate mortgage survey from Freddie Mac.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.6 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 26, down from last week’s average of 4.61, and 4.84 for the same period in 2010. Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.78 percent, down from last week’s 3.8 percent. “U.S. home prices indexes may be nearing a bottom soon,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.TRD [more]

Could I refinance you into a seven-year fixed-rate mortgage at 2.99 percent? Or how about 10 or 15
years fixed in the mid-3s?
These may sound suspiciously like teaser quotes with tricks in the fine print, but they are in fact signs of
an important shift under way among American homeowners: Not only have they been refinancing at a
robust pace in recent weeks, but they’re ratcheting down on the remaining number of years they plan to
pay on their mortgages.
Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft calls the shift to shorter terms “a very strong trend.” [more]

Mortgage interest rates fell across the board this past week and remained below year-ago levels, according to data from U.S.-backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac for the seven days that ended today. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.80 percent with 0.7 points during the week, down from 4.91 percent in the week prior and 5.07 percent in the same week last year. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage saw its interest rate fall to 4.13 percent with 0.7 points, down from 4.13 percent a week ago and 4.39 percent in 2010. TRD [more]

Mortgage rates rose this week thanks in part to growing concern about inflation, Freddie Mac said in a new report today. The report, which covers the past seven days, pegs the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.81 percent, up from 4.76 percent one week ago but below its 4.99 percent level during the same week last year. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, meanwhile, averaged 4.04 percent, up from 3.97 percent last week but also below its year-ago level, which was 4.34 percent. TRD [more]

Home sales in metropolitan New York will bounce back in 2011 and rise 8 percent compared to last year, the National Association of Realtors predicted. The NAR’s 1.2 million members saw a rise in December — for the fifth straight month — in the number of contracts signed, the New York Post reported. Home sales hit a low last June but have climbed back steadily, particularly in the New York area, where economists had expected a bleaker forecast. “Forward-looking contracts are expected to show a broad uptick,” said Walter Molony, a spokesperson for NAR, adding that official numbers for December and estimates for the coming year won’t be released until Jan. 20. [more]

U.S. housing prices will hit bottom this spring and begin to rise again next year, Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said yesterday during a presentation at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando. According to Reuters, attendance at the show this year was half what it was in the years between 2005 and 2008. Nothaft said he drew on historically low mortgage rates, slight declines in unemployment and delinquencies and an uptick in durable goods purchases to make his housing market forecast. [more]

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average fell to an all-time low of 4.19 percent for the week ending Oct. 14, down from 4.27 percent last week, Freddie Mac said today, marking the 23rd week in a row that the rate has been under five percent. The last time 30-year FRM rates were this low was April 1951. “September’s employment report held no big surprises to financial markets, allowing long-term bond yields and fix mortgage rates to continue to ease,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac. “As a result, both the 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgage rates hit all-time record lows for the third consecutive week.” Historically low rates have spurred yet another refinancing wave, Nothaft added. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, conventional mortgage applications for refinance jumped 24 percent over the week of Oct. 8 to the strongest pace since mid-April 2009. TRD

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