Freddie Mac confirms: 30-year rate below 5% again
A Freddie Mac survey out today shows the average fixed rate for a traditional 30-year home loan was back below 5% this week.
It was the second industry survey in two days to show the rate below the threshold, which has become a psychological trigger for homeowners refinancing mortgages. A Mortgage Bankers Assn. report Wednesday said refis had jumped as the 5% barrier was crashed.
Freddie Mac’s survey, conducted Monday through Wednesday, showed borrowers with good credit and a 20% equity stake in their home were getting 30-year loans for $417,000 or less at an average fixed rate of 4.98%.
The borrowers were paying an average of 0.7% of the loan amount in upfront fees and points to the lender, the usual cost reflected in the Freddie Mac survey.
In the Western region of the country, which includes California, borrowers were buying down the average rate to 4.91% by paying 0.9 in upfront points to lenders, Freddie Mac said.
The rate was down a bit from last week, when it averaged 5.03%, and a lot from last year at this time, when the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.20%.
Fixed rates on 15-year traditional mortgages averaged 4.40%, Freddie Mac said, down from 4.46% last week and 5.88% a year ago. Borrowers were paying 0.6% in upfront costs for those loans.
-- E. Scott Reckard
