Mortgage Rates Fall
Average fixed mortgage rates in the U.S. declined over the past week, with the 30-year fixed rate revisiting a record low and the 15-year fixed rate hitting a new record low, according to mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac.</br></br>"Following the Federal Reserve's announcement of a new bond purchase plan, yields on mortgage-backed securities fell bringing average fixed mortgage rates to their all-time record lows which should aid in the ongoing housing recovery," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said.</br></br>For the week ended Thursday, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.49%, compared with 3.55% the previous week and 4.09% a year earlier. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 2.77%, versus 2.85% a week earlier and 3.29% a year ago.</br></br>Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, averaged 2.76%, compared with 2.72% the previous week and the 3.02% rate set a year earlier. One-year Treasury-indexed ARM rates averaged 2.61%, unchanged from a week earlier and compared with 2.82% a year earlier.</br></br>Write to Tess Stynes at