Topsy turvy financial markets led to a decrease and then stabilization of average U.S. mortgage interest rates for the week ending April 5, 2018, according to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
“After dropping earlier this week on trade-related anxiety in financial markets, the benchmark 10-year Treasury stabilized on Wednesday, but at a level slightly lower than from the start of [the previous] week," Len Kiefer, Deputy Chief Economist, said. "Mortgage rates followed and fell for the second consecutive week. Though rates on the 30-year fixed mortgage are up 0.3 percentage points from the same week a year ago, a robust labor marking is helping home purchase demand weather modestly higher rates. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported in [its] latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey that the purchase index was up 5 percent from a year ago, indicating that this spring is on track for a modest expansion in purchase mortgage activity.”
The 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage loan averaged 3.87 percent, with an average 0.4 point. The 15-year home loan averaged 3.90 percent the previous week and 3.36 percent the previous year. The five-year, adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.62 percent, with an average 0.4 point, down four basis points from the previous week.