Long-term mortgage rates this week reached the lowest level since at least 1970, falling for the third consecutive week.
Freddie Mac’s weekly rate report says the average 30 year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.78 percent, matching a low set April 7 and the lowest 30 year mortgage rates have been since Freddie Mac started keeping track in 1970.
Adjustable rate mortgages also eased, but one year adjustable-rate mortgages are averaging rates nearly the same as 30 year fixed rates, at 4.77 percent.
“Mortgage rates for 30 year fixed-rate mortgages, the most popular loan among homebuyers are families seeking to refinance, are more than 1.6 percentage points below the recent peak set at the end of October 2008,” says Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) chief economist Frank Nothaft. “For a $200,000 loan, this means a monthly savings of almost $212 in mortgage payments or over $2,500 a year.”
Freddie Mac says borrowers who refinanced their mortgages in the first quarter reduced their mortgage payments by about $2.5 billion over the coming year.
There are growing signs the housing market may be on the mend. Existing home sales stayed near their four month average in March, while sales of new homes were stronger than expected last month. The inventory of unsold new homes fell to the lowest level since January 2002.
Washington Business Journal
