WASHINGTON – Long-term mortgage rates declined for the third straight week to new lows, amid record mortgage lending for credit unions.
The average rate for the benchmark 30-year mortgage dipped from 3.83% last week, to a record low of 3.79% this week, according to Freddie Mac, which began tracking rates in 1971. The average for the 15-year loan also moved lower, from 3.05% to a new low of 3.04%.
Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac, attributed the plunge in rates to the ongoing European financial crisis, which he said, “allowed Treasury bond yields and fixed mortgage rates to ease for another week.”
ARM rates rose slightly from record lows, with the average for the five-year ARM inching up from 2.81% to 2.83%; and the average for the one-year ARM rising from 2.78% from 2.73%.
Meantime, credit unions are reporting booming lending, especially for real estate loans, according to Callahan & Associates., a credit union consulting firm. First mortgages and consumer loans helped fuel strong growth in loan originations for the first quarter, with credit unions recording the highest dollar volume of first mortgages ever in a single quarter. Credit unions originated $26 billion of first mortgages during the first quarter, amounting to 36% of all loans.
