Fixed mortgage rates stayed on a downward trend and again dropped to new record-low levels last week, Freddie Mac said in its weekly report on the mortgage market.
According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending July 26, 2012, average mortgage rates for both 30-year fixed-rate loans and 15-year fixed-rate loans dropped to new historical low averages.
Average rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 3.49 percent, down from 3.53 percent the previous week, while 15-year fixed mortgages averaged 2.80 percent after averaging 2.83 percent one week earlier.
Rates for 30-year fixed mortgages are now more than a full percentage point lower than a year ago. At this time one year ago, 30-year fixed mortgages averaged 4.55 percent and 15-year fixed mortgages averaged 3.66 percent.
ARM rates rise
Interest rates for adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) showed the opposite trend, Freddie Mac reported, as both 5-year ARMs and shorter-term 1-year ARMs saw increases in average rates.
For the week ending July 26, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.74 percent, an increase from the previous week’s 2.69 percent average. Meanwhile, average rates for 1-year ARMs rose week-over-week from 2.69 percent to 2.71 percent.
One year ago at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.25 percent and 1-year ARMs averaged 2.95 percent.
