Conditions continued to improve for mortgage origination firms.
In its Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending April 2, Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.78 % — the lowest level ever recorded by Freddie. The 30-year was 4.85% the previous week and 5.88% the previous year.
This is the second consecutive week that the 30-year reached a record.
The average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.52%, down from 4.58% seven days earlier, the survey said.
A gauge for fixed mortgage rates, the 10-year Treasury yield, was 2.735% in early afternoon trading, easing from 2.794% last Thursday.
In assessing interest rate movements, Freddie’s chief economist, Frank Nothaft, pointed to slower economic growth.
Freddie said the five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.92%, down from 4.96% a week prior.
Down 10 basis points from the previous week, the one-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.75%. The underlying index, the yield on the one-year Treasury, closed yesterday at 0.58%, down from 0.60 one week earlier.
Another ARM index, the six-month London Interbank Offered Rate, was 1.74% yesterday, lower than 1.77% last week.
ARMs accounted for almost 2% of all applications tracked in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 27, edging up slightly from last week.
Overall applications increased 3.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in MBA’s survey, bringing its Market Composite Index to 1194.4. Refinance activity increased 4% from the prior week and the refinance share maintained at 79%. Purchase applications were unchanged and government business was up 1%.
