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Mortgage rates are starting out the New Year at or near their all-time lows, trending down slightly from the week before, according to rate survey figures released today by Freddie Mac.

Average interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 3.91 percent, matching their all-time low in the Freddie Mac survey, down from 3.95 percent last week. That’s close to a full percentage point lower than where they were last year at this time, when 30-year rates were averaging 4.77 percent, which seemed very low at the time.   Interest rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages and 5-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) also declined slightly from last week, hovering just above their all-time lows. Average rates on 15-year loans fell to 3.23 percent, down from 3.24 percent last week, while initial rates on 5-year ARMs dropped to 2.86 percent, down 2.88 percent last week.   Full post…

Mortgage rates held fairly steady this week, amid mixed economic reports that kept them hovering near their all-time lows.

Average interest rates on the standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage eased back to 4.11 percent, down from 4.12 percent last week, according to the weekly Freddie Mac rate survey. Interest rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans, which have been increasingly popular among refinancers, edged up to 3.38 percent, up from 3.37 percent last week.   Meanwhile, initial interest rates on five-year Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) backed off to 3.01 percent, down from 3.06 percent last week. All three briefly surged last week after dropping to their lowest rates ever the week before.   Factors influencing rates included a report by the Federal Reserve of an overall expansion of economic activity in September, but with dimming outlooks for certain areas of business.   Full post…