With the Fed’s affirmation of a prolonged low-rate environment already priced in, the average rate for a benchmark 30-year mortgage effectively held over the past week, inching up a single basis point to 2.87 percent, which is 86 basis points below its mark at the same time last year and one basis point above the all-time low of 2.86 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s Mortgage Market Survey data.
At the same time, the average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage inched down 2 basis points to 2.35 percent, which is 86 basis points below its mark at the same time last year, while the average rate for a 5-year adjustable dropped 15 basis points to 2.96 percent, which is 53 basis points below its mark at the same time last year and still “inverted” but back to within 10 basis points of the average 30-year rate.