Mortgage rates drop ahead of Treasury declines

Mortgage rates fell this week – and further drops may be in store after Treasury yields declined

Mortgage rates drop ahead of Treasury declines
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported a decline in weekly mortgage rates.

For the week ending May 18, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) went down to 4.02% from last week’s average of 4.05%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM was 3.58%.

"The 30-year mortgage rate fell three basis points this week to 4.02%,” said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sean Becketti. “However, this week's survey closed prior to Wednesday's flight to quality. The delayed impact of the associated decline in Treasury yields may push mortgage rates lower in next week's survey."

Meanwhile, the 15-year FRM also went down this week to 3.27% from last week’s 3.29%. A year ago, the average for the 15-year FRM was 2.81%.

The average interest rate for the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), the average fell to 3.13% this week from last week’s 3.14%. Last year, the 5-year ARM average was 2.80%.


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