For the 10th time in 11 weeks, the average 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage hit or matched a new record low, according to Freddie Mac.
The organization's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the average rate for a 30-year FRM fell from 3.66 percent to 3.62 percent during the week ending July 5, a new record low. Fifteen-year FRMs saw rate decreases as well, as the average for the loan slipped to 2.89 percent.
"Recent economic data releases of less consumer spending and a contraction in the manufacturing industry drove long-term Treasury bond yields over the week and allowed fixed mortgage rates to hit new all-time record lows," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac.
Low rates haven't quite had the effect on the market as some analysts have hoped for. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports home loan applications dipped roughly 7 percent during the week ending June 22. The drop in applications was, in large part, due to a lack of refinancing demand for government loans, according to Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics.
