With housing and economic data still weak, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained stable at 4.22%, Freddie said Thursday.
The average rate for the lesser used, five-year hybrid Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage set yet another record low as it fell for the eighth week in a row to 2.96%.
The average 15-year fixed rate dropped 5 basis points, to 3.99%, from last week, while the average one-year Treasury ARM rate declined 4 basis points, to 2.89%.
Thirty-year loans had an average of 0.7 of a point during the week ending Sept. 1 while the other three types of mortgages had an average of 0.6 of a point.
A year ago the 30-year was 10 basis points higher, the 15-year was 39 basis points higher, the five-year Treasury hybrid ARM was 58 basis points higher and the one-year Treasury ARM was 61 basis points higher.
Low rates are proving attractive to borrowers and underwriting has loosened somewhat, but the housing market's weakness is seen by some as a deterrent rather than the bargain it is, says Scott Stern, chief executive of the mortgage banking cooperative Lenders One.
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