If you’re looking to buy a home this spring, you’re timing couldn’t be better. Mortgage rates are hitting their lowest levels in years, according to Freddie Mac’s recently released Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
“The Fed’s decision to stand pat, followed by a week of assorted unsettling news drove Treasury yields lower,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “As a consequence, the 30-year mortgage rate drifted down to 3.61 percent, just 3 basis points above the low for the year. Since the start of February, mortgage rates have varied within a narrow range, providing an extended period for house hunters to take advantage of historically low rates.”
Here’s a snapshot of Freddie Mac’s survey findings:
• The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.61 percent, with an average 0.6 point for the week ending May 5, 2016, down from the previous week when it averaged 3.66 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.80 percent.
• The 15-year FRM averaged 2.86 percent, with an average 0.5 point, down from the previous week when it averaged 2.89 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.02 percent.
• The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.80 percent this week, with an average 0.5 point, down from the previous week when it averaged 2.86 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.90 percent.
