Mortgage rates dropped last week compared with the week before but were still higher than last year
Mortgage rates dropped for the second week in a row last week, according to Freddie Mac – but they’re still far higher than last year at this time.
The bad news is that mortgage rates are still far higher than they were last year at this time. The good news is that the continual back-and-forth of mortgage rates don’t seem to be hurting home sales, according to Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac chief economist.
“Despite recent mortgage rate fluctuation, new home sales far exceeded expectations in February and jumped 6.1% to an annualized rate of 592,000,” Becketti said.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.14% from 4.23% the week prior. Last year at this time, the average rate for the 30-year FRM was 3.71%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.39% from 3.44% from the week before. Last year at the same time, the average rate for the 15-year FRM was 2.98%.
The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.18% from 3.24% from the week before. Last year at this time, it averaged 2.90%.
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