Average U.S. rates on 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages this week fell to fresh record lows for the sixth straight week as concerns over slowing job growth pushed investors into the safety of government bonds that guide interest costs.
The average rate for a 30-year mortgage dropped to 3.67 percent from 3.75 percent in the week ended Thursday, Freddie Mac reported. It was the lowest rate in the mortgage-finance company's records dating to 1971.
The average 15-year rate declined to 2.94 percent, also a record, from 2.97 percent. Cheap mortgages continue to help boost prospects for home sales this year.
Purchases of newly built homes rose 3.3 percent in April from the previous month to an annual pace of 343,000, the Commerce Department said May 23. Home-loan applications gained 1.3 percent in the period ended June 1 from the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The refinance index rose 2 percent, while the purchase gauge fell 1.8 percent.
A Federal Reserve survey issued Wednesday showed the economy growing moderately in most regions of the country this spring as companies continued hiring. Manufacturing and home sales improved in most of the Fed's 12 regional districts, as did residential and commercial construction.
In April, sales of both previously occupied homes and new homes rose near two-year highs. Builders are gaining more confidence in the market, breaking ground on more homes and requesting more permits to build single-family homes later this year.
Some economists believe the U.S. housing market has bottomed out and is now in the midst of a slow recovery.
Mortgage applications rose by 1.3 percent during the week ended June 1, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday, mainly because more people applied to refinance their homes. Applications to buy a home fell for the fourth straight week.
