30-Year Mortgage Rates Fell in Latest Week: Zillow
By: Reuters
Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell in the latest week, real estate website Zillow.com said on Tuesday.
Low rates on mortgages should continue to boost home loan refinancing activity and put more cash into consumers’ hands to funnel into the economy. They also make homes more affordable as the housing market copes with slumping sales.
Mortgage rates on 30-year fixed mortgages, the most widely used loan, were 4.26 percent Tuesday afternoon, down from 4.29 percent at the same time last week, according to Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.
The rate was the lowest reported reported since Zillow Mortgage Marketplace launched in April 2008.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovered near 4.27 percent for the majority of the week it then spiked to 4.31 percent on Monday, followed by a sharp fall to the current rate, Zillow said.
Interest rates on other types of mortgages were mixed.
Fifteen-year fixed mortgage rates were 3.82 percent, down from 3.85 percent the prior week. Rates for 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable each following year, were 3.29 percent, up from 3.26 percent the prior week.
Zillow’s rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers through the website. They are not marketing rates, or a weekly survey.
Mortgage rates are linked to yields on Treasurys and yields on mortgage-backed securities. Yields move inversely to price.
Treasurys have rallied as weak economic data caused investors to stampede into safe-haven long-dated U.S. debt.
