Mortgage Rates Head Back Down

Mortgage rates settled back down after inching higher in recent weeks.

"The 10-year Treasury yield declined after last week's post-Brexit high in anticipation of the Fed's September policy meeting,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage followed Treasury yields, falling 2 basis points and settling at 3.48 percent. Despite the decrease in rates, the Refinance Index plunged 8 percent to its lowest level since June.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Sept. 22:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.48 percent, with an average 0.6 point, falling from last week’s 3.50 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.86 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.76 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 2.77 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.08 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.80 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 2.82 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.91 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac