“Disappointing April employment data once again kept a lid on Treasury yields, which have struggled to stay above 1.8 percent since late March,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “As a result, the 30-year mortgage rate fell 4 basis points to 3.57 percent, a new low for 2016 and the lowest mark in 3 years. Prospective home buyers will continue to take advantage of a falling rate environment that has seen mortgage rates drop in 14 of the previous 19 weeks.”
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for the week ending May 12:
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.57 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 3.61 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.85 percent.
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.81 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 2.86 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.07 percent.
Source: Freddie Mac