Fixed mortgage rates declined or remained the same throughout the Labor Day week, continuing to hover around all-time record lows amid mixed economic data.
The Freddie Mac survey showed the 30-year FRM averaged 3.55% for the week ending Thursday, down from last week’s 3.59%%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.12%.
The 30-year FRM stands only six basis points above the record low average hit in July.
The 15-year FRM, a popular refinancing choice, averaged 2.86%, unchanged from last week. A year ago, the average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.33%.
Five-year, Treasury-indexed, hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 2.75%, down from 2.78% last week and falling from 2.96% a year earlier.
One-year, Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 2.61%, down from last week’s 2.63% and down from 2.84% last year.
A mixture of economic arrived in the past week. Although consumer spending rose 0.4% in July, representing the largest gain in five months, the core price index did not change, suggesting little threat of inflation, Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft noted.
Consumer confidence picked up slightly in August according to the University of Michigan, but remained below this year’s peak in May. And the manufacturing industry contracted for the third consecutive month in August.
Home loan analytics firm Bankrate, which surveys large banks, reported the 30-year FRM slipped to 3.79% from 3.8%, while the 15-year FRM rose to 3.04% from 3.03%. The 5/1 ARM shrunk to 2.76% from 2.8% for the week.
