Mortgage Rate Update

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey^® for the past week, ending yesterday, showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 5.14% with an average 0.7 point paid to obtain that rate. This is up very slightly from the week before when it averaged 5.12 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.40 percent.

Low rates are "helping to sustain a high level of affordability in the home-purchase market," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist." This accounts for the increase in volume of existing home sales in each of the last four months, as reported elsewhere. Likewise, this week the U.S. Commerce Department reported new home sales gains in recent months. The combination of lower prices and continued low interest rates are allowing these gains.

This won't last forever!