U.S. Mortgage Rates Dip on Weak Jobs Report

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Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) reported this week that the average fixed mortgage rate moved lower following a weaker than expected jobs report for March 2015.

Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist of Freddie Mac says, "Mortgage rates fell across the board following last week's disappointing employment report. The US economy added 126,000 new jobs in March, well below market expectations of 247,000 jobs. We did see some uptick in wages, as average hourly earnings increased 7 cents for the month, and are up 2.1 percent over the year. Meanwhile, jobless claims fell sharply to 268,000 this week, much lower than market expectations of 285,000."

Freddie Mac News Facts

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.66 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending April 9, 2015, down from last week when it averaged 3.70 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.34 percent.

• 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.93 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.98 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.38 percent.

• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.83 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.92 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.09 percent.

• 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.46 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, unchanged from last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.41 percent.