Mortgage Rates Dropped for the 5th Consecutive Week

By Kyle Chezum Updated on 9/25/2013

Fixed mortgage rates (30 year & 15 year) dropped for the fifth consecutive week as the markets attempt to predict the trend for the economy. The 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 4.61% for the week ending May 19, down from 4.63% last week. The rates for the 30 year fixed mortgage was actualy 4.84% same week last year. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.8% down from 3.82% one week ago and 4.24% last year. The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.48% at 0.6 point, up from 3.41%. The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.15% with an average 0.6 point.

Industrial production remained unchanged while retail sales were up. The auto industry is still struggling becuase of high gas prices. Consumer confidence levels rose above the market census in May to the highest reading since Feb 2011.

The data for the housing market remained mixed. New construction on single-family homes dropped while applications for new mortgages increasedeach of the past five weeks becuase of low rates and stronger refinancing activity.