The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continued to drop this week, heading back near the 3% range.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.04% this week, Freddie mac reports. Mortgage rates are still below a year ago and remain at historical lows, which has proven a boon for the housing market, economists note.
“Mortgage rates took another dip this week as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased by almost ten basis points, week over week,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The economy is improving on the demand side and on the supply side, a variety of goods and materials remain scarce. As a result of this imbalance, pricing pressures are building and causing inflation to rise. Despite the pause in mortgage rates recently, we expect them to increase modestly for the remainder of this year.”
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending April 15:
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.04%, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3.13% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.31%.
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.35%, with an average 0.7 point, falling from last week’s 2.42% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.80%.
- 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.80%, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 2.92%. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.34%.
Freddie Mac reports average commitment rates along with average points to better reflect total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage.
Source: “Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, April 15, 2021,” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog (April 15, 2021) and Freddie Mac
