The mortgage rate decline streak has been extended to week number five, according to the weekly survey from Freddie Mac.
- 30-year fixed averaged 6.31% for the week ending December 15th, this is down 2 basis points from last week and is down 75 basis points from early November. However, even with these slides rates are still up 319 basis points from the same time last year.
- 15-year fixed averaged 5.54% this week, down 13 basis points from the same time last year and is now down 84 basis points from early November. Rates, however, are still up 320 basis points from the same time last year.
Analysis. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, said housing remains a mixed bag. “The good news for the housing market is that recent declines in rates have led to a stabilization in purchase demand. The bad news is that demand remains very weak in the face of affordability hurdles that are still quite high.”
MBS. Mortgage-Backed Securities had another positive week with the UMBS 30YR 5.0 up 19 cents for the week ending December 13th at $100.19. Keeping mortgage-backeds above $100 for the first time since early September.