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Based on new data released Wednesday from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), interest rates have decreased for conventional purchase-money mortgages from August to September, based on several indices of new mortgage contracts.
The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes Index closed in late September was 4.00 percent. This is down 5 basis points from the 4.05 percent rate in August.
For conventional 30-year fixed rate mortgages that were $424,100 or less, the average interest rate was 4.14 percent. This is down 5 basis points from 4.19 percent in August. The average loan amount for all loans in September was $299,500, which is down $10,100 compared to the average loan amount of $309,600 in August.
For the average interest on all mortgage loans, the rate was 3.99 percent, which is down 5 basis points from 4.04 in August. The effective interest rate on all mortgage loans landed at 4.08 percent in September, which is down 6 basis points from 4.14 percent in August. This rate accounts for the additions of initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage.
Indices are based on small monthly surveys taken by mortgage lenders and are not guaranteed to be representative. This sample is considered a convenience sample rather than statistical. The indices include 15-year mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages unless specified otherwise and the September 2017 values from the FHFA are based on 4,445 reported loans from 17 lenders which include savings associations, mortgage companies, commercial banks, and mutual savings banks.
