Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates stabilize as U.S. markets respond to improving economic conditions

This week, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.75%

July 11, 2019

Alcynna Lloyd

This week, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.75%, holding steady from the previous week, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Once again, the rate remains significantly lower than the same time period in 2018 when it averaged 4.52%.

Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said while rates have moderated, we’re still at near three-year lows, which is good news for buyers looking to purchase a home before school starts.

“The recent stabilization in mortgage rates reflects modestly improving U.S. economic data and a more accommodative tone from the Federal Reserve to respond to the rising downside economic risk from trade tensions and soft global economic data,” Khater said. “On the housing front, the latest weekly purchase application data suggests homebuyer demand continues to rise, which is consistent with the slowly improving real estate data from the last two months.”

The 15-year FRM averaged 3.22% this week, slightly up from last week’s 3.18%. This time last year, the 15-year FRM came in at 4.02%.

Lastly, the five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.46%, inching forward from last week’s rate of 3.45%. This rate is significantly lower than the same time period in 2018 when it averaged 3.86%.