Mortgage rates slowly edged down, moving closer to historic lows, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.13% for the week ended July 17, a drop from last week when it averaged 4.15%. In 2013, the 30-yr, FRM averaged 4.37%.
Meanwhile, the 15-yr, FRM came in at 3.23%, a slight decline from 3.24% last week and 3.41% a year ago.
The 5-yr Treasury-indexed ARM fell from 2.99% a week prior to 2.7%. This is also down from 3.17% last year.
The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.39%, decreasing from 2.40% last week and 2.66% in 2013.
“Mortgage rates were little changed amid a week of light economic reports. Of the few releases, industrial production rose by 0.2% in June, below the market consensus forecast. Also, the producer price index for final demand rose 0.4% in June, rebounding from a 0.2% decline the prior month,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist with Freddie Mac.
In addition, Bankrate reported that the 30-yr, FRM dipped from 4.31% to 4.30%.
The 15-yr, FRM came in at 3.40, down from 3.41%, while the 5/1 ARM stayed unchanged at 3.33%.
“Like many Americans, mortgage rates seem to be taking a midsummer vacation. Economic news has been mixed, and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's recent Senate testimony indicated that the central bank will not announce a rate hike anytime soon. That's good news for borrowers who have not refinanced yet or need more time to find a house. But don't expect mortgage rates to rest forever,” Bankrate said.
