Average U.S. mortgage interest rates declined again for the week ending December 27, 2018, reaching levels not seen in about six months, according to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
“Rates continued their two-month slide and are currently hovering around the same level as the early summer, which was before the deterioration in home sales," Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said. "The negative headlines around the financial markets are concerning, but the economy remains healthy, so the drop in mortgage rates should stem or even reverse the slide in home sales that occurred during the second half of 2018.”
The 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.01 percent, with an average 0.4 point, down 6 basis points from the previous week's 4.07 percent average. The 15-year loan average 3.44 percent last year.
The 5-year, adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) average 4 percent, with an average 0.3 point, an increase from 3.98 percent the previous week. The 5-year ARM averaged 3.47 during the same week in 2017.