Mortgage Rates: Another Record Low
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Zoonar/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Average fixed mortgage rates continued to fall to all-time record lows amid stalled consumer spending and manufacturing activity, government-sponsored Freddie Mac reported today.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.62 percent for the week ending July 5, down from last week’s 3.66 percent. Last year, at this time it was 4.6 percent.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.89 percent, down from last week when it was 2.94 percent. Last year, the 15-year mortgage rate was 3.75 percent.
“Recent economic data releases of less consumer spending and a contraction in the manufacturing industry drove long-term Treasury bond yields lower over the week and allowed fixed mortgage rates to hit new all-time record lows,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.
In the final first quarter estimates for GDP, growth in personal expenditures was revised downward to an annualized rate of 2.5 percent. Monthly consumer spending in April was revised to 0.1 percent from a 0.3 percent gain and was unchanged in May.
The Institute for Supply Management reported that manufacturing shrank in June, the first decline since July 2009.
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