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Mortgage Rates Sink While Fed Holds Off on Taper

Weak economic news provided some drag to mortgage rates this week, bringing them down again.

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""Freddie Mac's"":http://www.freddiemac.com/ Primary Mortgage Market Survey has the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.50 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending September 19, down from last week, when it averaged 4.57 percent. A year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.49 percent.

The 15-year FRM averaged 3.54 percent (0.7 point) this week, down from 3.59 percent in the last survey.

Movements were similar for adjustable rates. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.11 percent (0.5 point), down 11 basis points [COLUMN_BREAK]

week-over-week, while the 1-year ARM averaged 2.65 percent (0.4 point), down 2 basis points.

Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac, pointed to disappointing data for retail sales, industrial production, and consumer sentiment as the culprit for the week's decline. However, mortgage rates weren't the only thing affected by lackluster economic news.

""This, in part, was why the Federal Reserve chose to maintain its MBS [mortgage-backed securities] and bond-buying program at its September 12th and 13th monetary policy committee meeting. It also cited the tightening of financial conditions observed in recent months, which in the case of the housing market means the rise in mortgage rates since May,"" Nothaft said.

""Bankrate.com"":http://www.bankrate.com/ also reported a pullback in interest rates in its weekly national survey. The site recorded the 30-year fixed average at 4.66 percent (from 4.71 percent) and the 15-year fixed at 3.70 percent (from 3.75 percent).

The 5/1 ARM sank to 3.55 percent, down a tenth of a percentage point from last week.

""Mortgage rates have been down for two weeks in a row and with the Federal Reserve deciding not to start scaling back their stimulus, this will keep a lid on mortgage rates for the time being,"" Bankrate said. ""However, once the tapering inevitably starts, mortgage rates will likely resume the upward climb.""

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