Mortgage Rates Return to a Nearly a 50-year Low

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending May 28th, 2020. The PMMS shows that 30-year fixed-mortgage rate averaged 3.15% with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.24%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.99%. The 15-year fixed-mortgage rate averaged 2.62% with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.70% percent. A year ago, at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.46%. Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Sam Khater, said in prepared remarks that, “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has again hit the lowest level in our survey’s nearly 50-year history, breaking the record for the third time in just the last few months. These unprecedented rates have certainly made an impact as purchase demand rebounded from a 35% year-over-year decline in mid-April to an 8% increase as of last week—a remarkable turnaround given the sharp contraction in economic activity. Additionally, refinance activity remains elevated and low mortgage rates have been accompanied by a $70,000 decline in the average loan size of refinance borrowers this year. This means a broader base of borrowers are taking advantage of the record low rate environment, which will benefit the economy.”