WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates continued to plunge to new lows this week, as the benchmark 30-year loans slipped below 4% for the first time in recorded history, to 3.94%.
That’s down from last week’s low of 4.01%, according to Freddie Mac. The average for the 15-year mortgage continued to move lower to 3.26%, from 3.28% last week.
ARM rates also remained near record lows, with the average for the five-year ARM falling to 2.96% this week, from 3.02% last week; while the average for the one-year ARM ticked up to 2.95%, from 2.83%.
Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac, said the drop comes amid concerns about the global economy and a sharp drop in the 10-year Treasury early in the week. He noted that long-term rates fell as the U.S. Federal Reserve began a program of replacing $400 billion in short-term treasury securities with long-term bonds, a plan designed to push long-term rates lower.
