Average U.S. mortgage interest rates changed little for the week ending March 29, 2018, according to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey; however, interest rates for home loans are about 50 basis points higher through March than at the start of 2018.
“Treasury yields fell from a week ago helping to drive mortgage rates modestly lower," Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac's Deputy Chief Economist, said. "The yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped below 2.8 percent for the first time since early February of this year. The decline in Treasury yields comes as investors move into safer assets amid increased trade tensions. Following Treasurys, mortgage rates fell slightly."
The 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.90 percent, with an average 0.5 percent, also down just 1 basis point from the previous week. A year ago the 15-year mortgage loan averaged 3.39 percent.
The 5-year, adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loan averaged 3.66 percent, with an average 0.4 point. The 5-year ARM averaged 3.68 percent the previous week and 3.18 percent the previous year.