All average mortgage rates tracked by Freddie Mac in its weekly primary market survey continued to drop, setting record lows for the year.
During the week ending May 12, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slid to 4.63% with 0.7 of a point, from 4.71%; the average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 3.82% with 0.7 of a point, from 3.89%; the average five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM rate dropped to 3.41% with 0.6 of a point, from 3.47%; and the average rate for one-year Treasury adjustable-rate mortgages slid to 3.11%, from 3.14%.
A Freddie spokesman said the last time rates were this low was in December. All Freddie's survey rates remain below year-ago levels. At that time, the average 30-year rate was 4.93%, the average 15-year rate was 4.3%, the average five-year rate was 3.95%, and the average one-year Treasury ARM rate was 4.02%.
Freddie vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft attributed the continued decline in rates during the most recent week to mixed employment indicators.
