Mortgage Rates At Record Lows

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30-year mortgage rate at record low 3.89%

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Mortgage rates have hit record lows, Freddie Mac said Thursday in its weekly report on these rates, following "mixed" labor-market indicators. The average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low of 3.89% in the week ended Jan. 12, compared with 3.91% in the prior week, according to Freddie, a buyer of residential mortgages. These data go back to 1971. A year ago, the 30-year rate was at 4.71%. "Although the economy added 1.6 million jobs in 2011, which was the most since 2006, the unemployment rate remained historically elevated," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie's chief economist, in a statement. To obtain the latest rate, payment of an average 0.7 point was required. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged in prepaid interest. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low of 3.16% in the latest week from 3.23% in the prior week. These data go back to 1991. Meanwhile, the average rate on the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage declined to a record low of 2.82% from 2.86%. These data go back to 2005. The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM fell to a record low of 2.76% from 2.80%. These data go back to 1984.  

Mortgage rates hit record lows: Freddie Mac

Fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages break records this week

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Mortgage rates dropped to record lows this week, with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages falling to 3.89%, its sixth week below the 4% mark, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates.

The mortgage averaged 3.91% last week and 4.71% a year ago.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.16% for the week ending Jan. 12, down from 3.23% last week and 4.08% a year ago.

Adjustable-rate mortgages also dropped, with 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARMs averaging 2.82%, down from 2.86% last week and 3.72% a year ago, according to the survey. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 2.76%, down from 2.8% last week and 3.23% a year ago.

To obtain the rates, 30-year mortgages and 5-year ARMs required payment of an average 0.7 point, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages required an average 0.8 point and 1-year ARMs required an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.

“Mortgage rates eased slightly this week to all-time record lows following mixed indicators in the labor market,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac, in a news release.

“Although the economy added 1.6 million jobs in 2011, which was the most since 2006, the unemployment rate remained historically elevated. The 2009 to 2011 period had the highest three-year average unemployment rate since 1939 to 1941,” he said. The government’s official jobless rate for December was 8.5%.

Nothaft also pointed to the Federal Reserve’s regional economic review known as the Beige Book, released Wednesday. It indicated most industries “saw limited permanent hiring at the end of last year,” he said.