Bloomberg
U.S. 30-Year Mortgage Rates Decline to Record 4.57% (Update1)
July 08, 2010, 10:20 AM EDT
By Brian Louis
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. mortgage rates fell to a record low for the third straight week, reducing purchasing costs for homebuyers after the expiration of a government tax credit.
Rates for 30-year fixed loans declined to 4.57 percent in the week ended today from 4.58 percent, mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac said in a statement today. The average 15-year rate was 4.07 percent, McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac said.
Borrowing costs have tumbled in the past three months amid rising investor demand for bonds including mortgage-backed securities. Lower rates have failed to lift housing demand, which slumped after the April 30 end of a tax credit of as much as $8,000 for home buyers.
U.S. new home sales sank 33 percent to an annual pace of 300,000, the lowest level on record, in May, the Commerce Department said June 23. Existing-home sales decreased 2.2 percent from April to a 5.66 million annual rate, National Association of Realtors data showed June 22.
Unemployment and the supply of foreclosed homes for sale are slowing the housing recovery. The U.S. jobless rate in June was 9.5 percent, near a 26-year high of 10.1 percent in October.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of mortgage applications rose 6.8 percent in the week ended July 2. The portion of refinancings increased 9.2 percent. Applications to purchase a home declined 2 percent.
--Editors: Kara Wetzel, Rob Williams
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