Freddie Mac released its weekly update on national mortgage rates this morning showing rates unchanged or lower.
Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) are holding steady at 3.53% after last week's sharp price spike. Fifteen-year FRMs are actually down a bit, falling four basis points to 2.77%.
Adjustable-rate mortgages are getting even cheaper, relative to their longer-dated cousins. One-year ARMs dropped six basis points to 2.53%, while 5/1 ARMs shed seven basis points to land at 2.63%.
Last year at this time, the averages were 3.87% for 30-year FRMs, 3.16% for 15-year FRMs, 2.83% for 5/1 ARMs, and 2.78% for 1-year ARMS.
Commenting on the most recent numbers, Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist Frank Nothaft noted "a mostly positive employment data report for January. In January, the economy gained 157,000 new jobs and revisions to November and December added another 127,000 workers. On top of that, the annual benchmark update showed payrolls grew by an additional 424,000 jobs between April 2011 and March 2012."
Last month, Nothaft talked about a similarly "positive employment report for December" in relation to rising mortgage rates.
