15-Year Mortgage Rates Dive to Lowest on Record

Courtesy of REALTOR®Mag/National Association of REALTORS®
Daily Real Estate News | Friday, April 13, 2012

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, often the top choice of home refinancers, reached a new all-time record low of 3.11 percent this week, Freddie Mac reports in this week’s mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage also sank lower this week, hovering near it’s all-time low. 
 
"Fixed mortgage rates eased for the third consecutive week following long-term Treasury bond yields lower after a weaker than expected employment report for March,” Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Frank Nothaft says.

Here’s how rates fared for the week ending April 12: 

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.88 percent, with an average 0.7 point, down slightly from last week’s 3.98 percent average. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.91 percent. 
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged a new record low of 3.11 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3.21 percent average. The 15-year mortgage rate’s previous record low was 3.13 percent, which was set on March 8 of this year. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 4.13 percent. 
• 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.85 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, also falling from last week, in which it averaged 2.86 percent. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.78 percent. 
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.80 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, rising from last week’s 2.78 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 3.25 percent. 

Source: Freddie Mac