Just when you thought things wouldn’t get any crazier in the world of mortgage rates, two massive bombs get dropped: Mortgage rates drop at least half a point across the board, and a new person is writing the PMMS report for the Zing blog. I know which one is more important to you, so I’ll start by introducing myself. This is Travis Pelto, blog writer for the Zing blog, and I’m super excited to be guiding you all through the ups and downs of the Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
Now I know the wonderful Amanda Pallay loves to explain these reports with the comical “Mount Ratemore” in relation to how the rates are changing, and full explanations on the proper definition of a Sherpa, but I promise a much more serious and to the point PMMS report from here on out.
That being said, the mortgage rate freight train rode down the tracks of home ownership to surprisingly lower mortgage rates for this week’s report. Here are the numbers:
30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 3.51% with an average of .08 points, from last week when it averaged 3.56%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate averaged 3.90%.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 2.76% with an average of 0.8 points, down from last week when it averaged 2.77%. Last year, the 15-year rate averaged 3.17%.
ARMs also slipped slightly from last week. The 5-year ARM hung onto 2.61% with an average 0.6 points. And the 1-year ARM was 2.61% this week with an average 0.4 points. A year ago the 5-year ARM and the 1-year ARM averaged 2.83% and 2.72%, respectively.
And now, a word from our friend Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac:
“Mortgage rates eased somewhat as the consumer price index in February held steady for the second month in a row. House price indicators, however, showed gains in 2012. The S&P/Case-Shiller® national home price index rose 7.3 percent last year, reflecting the largest four-quarter growth since the third quarter of 2006. This, in part, was a driving force that pushed up the number of existing and new home sales in February to the highest levels since July 2007 and July 2008, respectively.”
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