WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates remained near record lows this week, with the average for the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan clocking in at 4%, according to Freddie Mac.
That’s up just slightly from 3.98% last week. The average for the 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage also held near an all-time low at 3.30%, the same as last week.
ARM rates declined to record territory, with the average for the five-year ARM slipping to 2.90%, from 2.91%; and the average for the one-year ARM moving to 2.78%, from 2.79% last week.
“Mortgage rates were little changed this past week, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at or below 4.00% for the fifth consecutive week,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac. “This week the Federal Reserve released its latest Beige Book review of regional economic conditions, noting the residential real estate market generally remained sluggish through the first half of the fourth quarter but that the economy expanded at a moderate pace in 11 of its 12 Districts. The extraordinarily low mortgage rates of the past month may provide a needed spur to housing activity.”
