Will Mortgage Rates Drop Below 3.5 Percent?

• June 7, 2012

by Shilpi Paul

Mortgage rates hit yet another record low this week. Does that sound familiar?

This morning, Freddie Mac reported 3.67 percent with an average 0.7 point as the average on a 30-year fixed mortgage, down quite a bit from last week’s 3.75 percent. Rates have been dropping all spring, and this is the sixth consecutive week that mortgage rates fell to a record low.

From Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft:

Fixed mortgage rates reached new record lows for the sixth consecutive week as long-term Treasury bond yields declined further following downwardly revised economic growth and job creation data. In addition, the economy added 69,000 jobs in May, less than half of the market consensus forecast and revisions subtracted a total of 49,000 workers in March and April. Lastly, the unemployment rate ticked up from 8.1 percent in April to 8.2 percent.

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. Still, rates are at historical lows.

Below is a look at the path of rates since last January. Question for our readers: When do you think long-term rates will drop below 3.5%?

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/will_mortgage_rates_drop_below_3.5_percent/5629