Fixed-rate mortgages are holding steady among European debt market concerns, mixed housing data and a sputtering economy. Freddie Mac just released results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey and found that the 30-year fixed rate remain unchanged at 4.09 percent. The 15-year rate dropped to 3.29 percent which was a new record low.

This time last year the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.37 percent. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage was at 3.82 percent on average last year. Even the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage was down to an average of 3.02 percent this week compared to 3.54 percent last year. “A sluggish economy and investor concerns over the European debt markets left mortgage rates largely unchanged this week,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist. “Manufacturing activity in both the New York and Philadelphia regions contracted in September.”

The Federal Reserve Board reported that households lost nearly $150 billion in net worth in the second quarter, representing the first quarterly decline in a year. “Meanwhile, recent data on the housing market were mixed,” continued Nothaft. “The Census Bureau reported that new housing construction dipped five percent in August to an annual pace of 571,000 homes, and homebuilder confidence remained near record lows for September according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.” On a positive note, existing home sales however, rose to 5.03 million homes in August, which represented the strongest annualized rate since March of this year, according to Nothaft.

Similar Posts:

  • Share/Bookmark