Home loan interest rates displayed little movement this week, but still remain below year-ago levels, according to the latest survey from mortgage financier Freddie Mac.
The traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stood firm at 6.52 percent for the week ending August 7, while the 15-year fixed inched up three basis points to 6.10 percent.
Adjustable-rate mortgages showed mild improvement, with the average five-year ARM falling two basis points to 6.05 percent and the one-year shedding five basis points to average 5.22 percent.
A year ago, the 30-year averaged 6.59 percent, the 15-year 6.25 percent, the five-year 6.33 percent, and the one-year 5.65 percent.
“The housing market is continuing to act as a drag on the economy,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “Residential fixed investment subtracted 0.6 percentage points off second quarter growth in real GDP.
“More recently, mortgage applications for home purchases in the past few weeks fell to the slowest pace since the week ending February 21, 2003, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Finally, although showing some initial signs of improvement, the inventory of unsold homes remains at historically high levels.”
Freddie Mac’s weekly survey data is based on conforming loan amounts with a loan-to-value of 80 percent.
Related Topics:
