Mortgage rates generally fell again the week that ended Thursday, with the average 30-year fixed rate retreating closer to 5%, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey.
After yields on Treasuries rebounded from multidecade lows during the spring and early summer — bringing mortgages rates along with them — Treasuries have rallied of late as investors question the pace of an economic recovery.
The 30-year fixed rate averaged 5.07% for the week ended Thursday, down from last week's 5.08% average and 5.93% a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.5%, down from 4.54% last week and 5.54% a year earlier.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.51%, down from last week's 4.59% and 5.87% a year earlier.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs were 4.64%, up from 4.62% last week but down from 5.21% a year earlier.
To obtain the rates, the fixed-rate mortgages required payment of an average 0.7 point. The five-year adjustable-rate mortgages required an average 0.5 point and the one-year ARMs required an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.
