Long-Term Mortgage Rates Hit All Time Low!
Long-Term Mortgage Rates Hit All Time Low!
Long-term mortgage rates hit new lows this week, on signs inflation remains in check.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the week ending Oct. 7 was 4.27 percent, down from 4.32 percent last week. A 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to an average of 3.72 percent, down from 3.75 percent last week.
Both are the lowest long-term rates have been since Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) began keeping track.
"The 12-month growth rate in the core price index for personal consumption, which the Federal Reserve closely tracks, has been drifting lower over the last six months ending in August and suggests inflation is running at a tepid pace at best," said Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft. "This allowed mortgage rates to ease to new or near record lows."
A report this week from the National Association of Realtors showed pending sales of existing homes rose for the second consecutive month in August, up 4.3 percent. The group also revised July's pending sales figures higher, indicating housing sales continue to recover even without the now expired homebuyer tax credit.
The hopeful news nationally and could spur sales after the recent tax credit expiration slump. Austin home sales fell 15 percent year-over-year in August, while sales so far this year have outperformed 2009, the Austin Board of Realtors reported. The Multiple Listing Service data showed total homes sold fell to 1,490 homes in August, while the year-to-date total increased 2 percent from the same eight months in 2009.
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