Mortgage rates climbed to a new record low this week amid electoral uncertainty, with the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage plummeting to 2.78 percent. It’s the 12th time this year a new record low has been set.
Sam Khater | Photo credit: Freddie Mac
“Mortgage rates hit another record low, the twelfth time this year, due to economic and political ambiguity,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Despite the uncertainty that we’ve all experienced this year, the housing market, buoyed by low rates, continues to be a bright spot.”
Last week, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage hit 2.81 percent. At this time last year, the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was reported at 3.69 percent.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.32 last week, down from 3.13 percent at this time last year. The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.89 percent down from 3.39 percent last year.
As mortgage rates continue to stay near record lows, new mortgage purchases continue to boom. The market composite index published Wednesday by the Mortgage Banker’s Association, found that refinance volume was up 88 percent year-over-year this week, while purchase volume was up 25 percent year over year.
