3.36: Another Week, Another Record Low

• October 4th 2012

by Shilpi Paul

For the second week in a row, mortgage rates dropped considerably to reach a new all-time record low.

This morning, Freddie Mac reported 3.36 percent with an average 0.6 point as the average on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

From Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft:

Fixed mortgage rates fell again this week to all-time record lows due to the mortgage securities purchases by the Federal Reserve and indicators of a weakening economy. The final estimate of growth in Gross Domestic Product was revised down to 1.3 percent in the second quarter, representing the slowest growth in a year. In addition, personal incomes rose only 0.1 percent in August, while July’s increase was revised downward. And finally, pending home sales in August fell 2.6 percent, well below the market consensus forecast of a slight increase.

Will rates drop below 3 percent? Earlier this week, we tapped a few experts to give us some insight into the possibility of that happening. Check it out here.

The UrbanTurf Mortgage Rate Disclaimer: The rates reported by Freddie Mac for 30-year mortgages are usually the best rates that the most qualified borrowers can get, so borrowers or those considering refinancing should not necessarily read this news and think that they can go out and get a loan with the quoted interest rate.

Here’s a look at the path of rates since January 2010:

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/3.36_another_week_another_record_low/6116.