Mortgage rates fall again

Rates have now slipped in four of the past five weeks

By Francis Monfort

02 Jul 2018

Mortgage rates declined again during the week ending June 28 and have now retreated in four of the past five weeks, according to the results of the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released by Freddie Mac.

Rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.55%, with an average 0.5 point, down from the previous 4.57% average. The latest average marks an increase from the year-ago period, which recorded a 3.88% average rate.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.04%, with an average 0.5 point, remaining unchanged from the previous period. A year ago at this time, the mortgage averaged 3.17%.

The average for the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) increased to 3.87%, with an average 0.3 point, from the prior average of 3.83%. The 5-year ARM averaged 3.17% in the same week in 2017.

Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said rates have settled down and stabilized these last two months. “The decrease in borrowing costs are a nice slice of relief for prospective buyers looking to get into the market this summer,” he said. “Some are undoubtedly feeling the affordability hit from swift price appreciation and mortgage rates that are still 67 basis points higher than this week a year ago.”