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Thirty-year average edges down to 6.30 percent; five-year adjustable-rate average remains at six-month low.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mortgage rates fell for the 10th time in
11 weeks, though the drop was slight this week, according to a survey
released Thursday.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.30 percent for the week ending Oct. 5, down from 6.31 percent, according to Freddie Mac's (Charts) Primary Mortgage Market Survey. A year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.98 percent.
The
15-year FRM averaged 5.98 percent this week, unchanged from last week.
A year ago, it averaged 5.54 percent. This is the lowest 15-year FRM
rates have been since March.
Rates for five-year adjustable-rate
mortgages (ARMs) came in at 6.00 percent this week, unchanged from last
week, the lowest they've been in six months. A year ago, they averaged
5.48 percent.
One-year ARMs averaged 5.46 percent, down from 5.47
percent last week. A year ago, the one-year ARM averaged 4.77 percent.
The one-year ARM also reached a six-month low.
"Mortgage rates
fell to a six-month low this past week, and, not surprisingly, home
refinancing rose 18 percent last week, accounting for almost half of
all mortgage applications," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice
president and chief economist, in a statement.
"This is due both
to the recent decline in mortgage rates and to homeowners who are
refinancing ARMs rather than waiting for them to reset in the future
when rates may be higher."
"Even though rates have fallen
recently, housing activity continues to slow while new construction
wanes, leading Fed Chairman Bernanke to expect that the national
economic rate of growth will lose up to one full percentage point in
the last half of this year," he added.
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