It’s getting pretty predictable at this point. One week, mortgage rates go up, the next, they fall. And repeat.
And since mortgage rates increased last week, it would only be appropriate that they fall this week.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.20 percent this week, down from 6.46 percent a week ago and 6.24 percent in the same period a year ago, Freddie Mac reported today.
“Mortgage rates fell this week amid new indications of a pullback in consumer spending and a weaker jobs market,” said Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft in a statement.
“The economy shrank by 0.3% in the third quarter, led by the first decline in consumer spending since the fourth quarter of 1991.”
The 15-year fixed fell to 5.88 percent, down from 6.19 percent last week and 5.90 percent a year earlier.
The five-year adjustable-rate mortgage slipped to 6.19 percent from 6.36 percent, but still sits above its year-ago level of 5.89 percent.
The one-year ARM fell to 5.25 percent from 5.38 percent, a quarter below its year-ago average of 5.50 percent.
Freddie Mac’s weekly survey relies on data from conforming mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent.
Meanwhile, Bankrate said the average conforming 30-year fixed fell to 6.44 percent from 6.77 percent, while the 30-year jumbo slipped to 7.76 percent from 7.95 percent.
The company attributed the volatile movement of mortgage rates to credit spreads, which hit their highest level since 1986 a week ago before easing this week.
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