4.22%: Mortgage Rates Unchanged This Week

• September 1st 2011

by UrbanTurf Staff

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Mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage coasted along this week at the same rate as last week, averaging 4.22 percent with 0.7 of a point. This time last year the FRM rate stood at 4.32 percent.

Meanwhile, the 5-year ARM rate set a new record low at 2.96 percent with 0.6 of a point. It was the eighth week in a row that the rate declined.

Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft had this to say about this week’s rates:

“Weaker economic data reports eased upward pressure on mortgage rates this week and kept them at or near all-time record lows. The economy grew at a slower rate of 1 percent in the second quarter than was originally reported due to a smaller increase in inventories and fewer exports. In addition, consumer confidence in August fell to the lowest reading since April 2009, according to The Conference Board.”

Nothaft also pointed to this week’s less-than-stellar report from Case-Shiller:

“Recently released data on the housing market also showed less strength as well. The S&P/Case-Shiller® National Index fell 5.9 percent between the second quarters of 2010 and 2011, representing the largest yearly decrease since the third quarter of 2009. Moreover, July’s pending sales of existing homes fell at a monthly rate of 1.3 percent, the first decline since April 2011.”

Here’s a look at the path of rates since last January:

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/4.22_mortgage_rates_unchanged_this_week/4081.