Mortgage rates mostly edged lower in the week that ended Thursday, with the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages inching closer to 5%, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey.
The 30 year has averaged around 5% so far this year, staying in a band of about 0.25 percentage point, said Freddie's chief economist, Frank Nothaft.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.06% for the week that ended Thursday, down from the prior week's 5.07% average, but up from 4.84% a year earlier. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.39%, unchanged on the week but down from 4.51% year over year.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4%, down from 4.03% and 4.9%. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs were 4.25%, up from 4.22%, but down from 4.78%.
To obtain the rates, 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages required payment of an average 0.7 point, the five-year mortgage required an average of 0.6 and the one-year required an average 0.5. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.
