Mortgage rates held steady this week, remaining at or near their 2011 lows for the second week in a row, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A separate survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed demand for purchase loans dropped slightly last week, but that applications were still up from a year ago.
Freddie Mac’s survey showed rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 4.5 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending June 23 — unchanged from last week and just a hair above the 4.49 percent low for the year seen during the first week of June.
Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit an all-time low in Freddie Mac records dating to 1971 of 4.17 percent during the week ending Nov. 11, 2010, before rebounding to a 2011 high of 5.05 percent in February. At this time a year ago, the 30-year mortgage averaged 4.69 percent.
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.69 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, up slightly from the 2011 low of 3.67 percent reported last week by Freddie Mac.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgages hit an all-time low in records dating back to 1991 of 3.57 percent in November, before rising to a 2011 high of 4.29 percent in February. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.13 percent.
For 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans, rates averaged 3.25 percent with an average 0.6 point this week — a new 2011 low — down from 3.27 percent last week and 3.84 percent a year ago.
Rates on 5-year ARM loans hit an all-time low in records dating to 2005 of 3.25 percent in November, before rising to a 2011 high of 3.92 percent in February.
Rates on 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 2.99 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from 2.97 percent last week but down from 3.77 percent a year ago.
The 1-year ARM has this year ranged from a high of 3.4 percent in February to a low of 2.95 percent during the week ending June 9.
The MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed demand for purchase loans during the week ending June 17 was down a seasonally adjusted 3.9 percent when compared to the week before, but up 4.4 percent from a year ago.
In a June 15 forecast, MBA economists said they expect rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages to average 4.9 percent in July, August and September and climb to an average of 5.2 percent during the final three months of the year. The forecast calls for a gradual rise in rates all next year, to an average of 5.7 percent during the fourth quarter of 2012.
