After the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage cleared the 4 percent mark for the first time since May last week, the latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported another dip, with the 30-year FRM falling slightly just below 4 percent mark to 3.96 percent for the week ending July 20,2017.
The Report
- The 30-year FRM dropped by 7 basis points from 4.03 percent prior to the survey week. A year ago, the 30-year FRM concluded at 3.45 percent.
- The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage finished with an average of 3.23 percent from 3.29 percent last week. During the same time last year, the 15-year FRM was at 2.75 percent.
- The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage also fell from last week, now at 3.21 percent compared to 3.28 the week prior. A year ago, the 5-year ARM average was at 2.78 percent.
Get today’s rates.
To Blame
Freddie Mac’s chief economist Sean Becketti pointed to the continued economic uncertainty and the weak inflation data as factors that pushed mortgage rates lower after two weeks of consecutive increases.
With the current rate pattern, it’s hard to guess how the market will behave in the future.
The Survey
The Primary Mortgage Market Survey® was established in April 1971 as the foremost source of mortgage trends in the regional and national level. Its data is utilized by both the public and the mortgage industry at large to gauge market conditions and evaluate mortgage loan options.
Survey Parameters
The survey results are gathered based on lenders’ most popular mortgage products – inclusive of 30 and 15-year FRMs as well as adjustable-rate mortgages. The first-lien prime conventional conforming home purchase mortgages (with an LTV of 80 percent) are considered primary basis for the survey. Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury yields are used to index ARMs. Lenders are asked to provide the a) initial coupon rate and points, as well as b) ARM margins for this purpose.
