Rates on the average 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage hit a new low
this week, falling to 2.66%, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
The 15-year is particularly popular with homeowners who want to
refinance their old mortgages to a lower rate and pay off their loan more
quickly.
Interest rates on 30-year loans, which are
popular among first-time homebuyers, averaged 3.37%, a single tick above the
record low of 3.36% set two weeks earlier.
Rates have inched down about 0.2 percentage points since the Federal Reserve announced plans in
September to buy as much as $40 billion a month of mortgage-backed
securities until the economic recovery started gaining momentum.
That may be happening already, according to Keith Gumbinger, of
mortgage information company HSH.com.
"If the economy continues to show signs of improvement this
fall, mortgage rates could firm a little more," he said. "For that to
occur though, we'll need a lot more evidence that forward momentum is
building."
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said rates
remained unchanged this week as "home construction builds up steam."
He noted that construction on single-family homes continues to
rise, as does homebuilder confidence, both of which point to an improving
housing market.
