Freddie Mac: Mortgage Rates Slightly Eased Amid Mixed Housing Data

Updated on

The latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) released by Freddie Mac / Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (OTCBB:FMCC) showed that the fixed mortgage rates eased slightly amid mixed housing data.

In a statement, Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac / Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (OTCBB:FMCC) said, “Mortgage rates were slightly changed with the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage down three basis points.”

Freddie Mac’s mortgage rates

The PMMS survey showed that mortgage lenders are offering an average of 4.20% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) during the week ending September 25, 2014. The rate declined last week’s average rate of 4.23%. During the same week a year earlier, the average 30-year FRM was 4.32%.

The average rate for the 15-year FRM for the week was 3.36%, down from 3.37% a week earlier. During the same period last year, the average 15-year FRM was 3.37%.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable –rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.08% for the week, up from 3.06% last week. The average 5-year ARM was 3.07% last year.

The1-year Treasury-indexed ARM was unchanged at 2.43% for the week. During the same time a year earlier, the average 1-year ARM was 2.63%.

Housing data

The Department of Commerce reported that the existing home sales declined 1.8% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.05 million in August. The sales of new single-family homes increased 18% to an annual rate of 504,000 units last month, higher than the 430,000 estimated by economists.

The increase in the sales of new single-family homes is the fastest rate since May 2008. Industry observers suggested that the figure is sign that the real estate market is recovering from the recession.

Chang Wei Liang of Mizuho Bank commented that the U.S. home sales data “indicate that young people are perhaps now starting to feel economically secure enough to buy their own homes.” He added, “Continuation of this strength would provide further concrete evidence that even the labor market for young people is already near normality.”

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that home prices went up by only 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in July. Over the past year, home prices climbed 4.4%.

Leave a Comment