Rates Creeping Back Down

After hitting a two year high last week, mortgage rates have dropped, according to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage report.

Rates have been jumping around recently after beginning their rise in May as speculation mounts that the Fed may soon end its bond-purchasing program, part of what kept rates at or near record lows for the majority of the year.

"The Fed is monitoring the housing market closely after the run-up in mortgage rates over the past few months,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 13.4 percent drop in new-home sales in July led financial markets to speculate whether the Fed might delay reducing its bond purchases and allowed long-term bond yields and fixed mortgage rates to decline over the week."

Here are Freddie Mac's national averages for the week ending August 29th:



30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.51 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 4.58 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.59 percent.

15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.54 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3.60 percent average. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 2.86 percent.

5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.24 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 3.21 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.78 percent.

1-year ARMs: averaged 2.64 percent, with an average 0.4 point, dropping from last week’s 2.67 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.63 percent.