Mortgages rates were mostly lower this week, according to Freddie Mac. The largest declines were in the adjustable rate products.
One-year ARM rates, for example, averaged 11 basis points lower from last week to 5.18%, while five-year hybrid ARMs fell 10 basis points to 5.57%. This should continue to help strengthen ARM share applications.
On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported ARM share of total applications increased to 8.3% in the week ending May 9 from 6.8% in the previous week. ARM share hit a multi-year low of 3.8% for the week ending March 21.
On the fixed-rate mortgage side, 30-year loan rates slipped another four basis points to 6.01%, while 15-year rates were unchanged at 5.60%.
"Recent remarks by Federal Reserve officials, which partly bolstered optimism that financial markets will recover later this year, helped mortgage rates ease up a little this week," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said regarding the improvement in rates.
The stable to improved rates should help keep mortgage applications firm. In its Wednesday's report, the MBA reported that the Refinance Index gained 6.5% to 2422. Since hitting a year-to-date low of 1905 in the week ending April 25, the share of refinancings has risen to 27%.
