The past week's mortgage rates, monitored by Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), for 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaged 4.92 percent for the week ending October 15th. This is a modest increase from last week's 4.87 percent. 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaged 6.46 percent the same time last year.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week averaged 4.37 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.33 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.14 percent.
The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.38 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.35 percent. A year ago, the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 6.14 percent.
The one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.60 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.53 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 5.16 percent.
"Mortgage rates rose slightly over the week, but rates on 30-year fixed mortgages remained below 5 percent for the third consecutive week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Homeowners are taking advantage of these low rates to refinance their current balances. Over the past five weeks ending October 9, more than 3 out 5 mortgage applications were for refinancing, according the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The outlook on economic growth in the second half of this year has improved over the past few months. At it's September 22-23 monetary policy meetings, the Federal Reserve increased its forecast for real GDP growth from the last meeting in mid-August. They noted that data from the housing sector indicated that a gradual recovery in activity was under way. The modest strengthening came about, in part, to improvements in housing affordability stemming from low interest rates for conforming loans and a lower level of house prices."
Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.
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