Freddie Mac: 15-year mortgage rate hits a record low 3.13%

By Kerri Panchuk

Fixed mortgage rates hovered near record lows this past week as the 15-year FRM plunged to a new record low of 3.13%, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The government-sponsored enterprise released its primary mortgage market survey showing the 30-year FRM averaging 3.88%, down from last week's average of 3.90%. The same mortgage rate hit 4.88% last year.

The 15-year FRM reached 3.13%, down from 3.17% a week earlier and 4.15% last year.

In addition, the 5-year, Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.81%, down from 2.83% a week earlier and 3.73% last year.

The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.73%, up from 2.72% last week and 3.21% a year earlier.

"With these historically low rates and declining house prices, the typical family had more than double the income needed to purchase a median-priced home in January, according to the National Association of Realtors Housing Affordability Index which registered the highest reading since records began in 1970," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac.

"In fact, the Corelogic National Home Price Index fell for the sixth consecutive month in January to the lowest level since January 2003. This high level of affordability likely contributed to the recent two-week rise ending March 2 in mortgage applications for home purchases."

Bankrate.com survey results show the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage hitting 4.11%, up from 4.10% last week.

Meanwhile, the 15-year, FRM hit 3.34%, down from 3.35%.

In addition, the 5/1 ARM fell from 3.04% to 3.03% in the most recent Bankrate survey.

URL to original article: http://www.housingwire.com/article/freddie-mac-15-year-mortgage-rate-hits-record-low-313

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