Mortgage Rates Hold Steady

McLEAN, Va. – Long-term mortgage rates remained unchanged this week, for the third week in a row, according to Freddie Mac. The average for the 30-year, fixed-rate loan was 6.16%, and for the 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage it was 5.87%, both the same as last week. ARM rates were also virtually unchanged, with the averages for both the five-year and one-year ARM declining by a single basis point each, to 5.87% and 5.42%, respectively. “The recently advanced report of first quarter gross domestic product was weaker than expected, growing only 1.3%. The housing market alone shaved a full percentage point off real GDP growth, said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac. Additionally, both consumer spending and price increases in consumer expenditures were quite tame in March. These contributing factors allowed mortgage rates to hold steady this week.”