US Mortgage Rates Hit New Low For Second Week: Freddie Mac

U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates hit a record low in the week ending May 10, following lower Treasury bond yields and weaker economic data in April, mortgage financier Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The 30-year mortgage rate was 3.83 percent, down from the previous record low of 3.84 percent in the prior week and far below 4.63 percent in the prior year.

Following April's weaker than expected employment report, and the French and Greek election results raising concerns over the stability of the Euro currency zone, long-term Treasury bond yields declined allowing fixed mortgage rates to ease to new all-time record lows this week, said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist.

The U.S. added 115,000 jobs in April, below forecasts, and drops in the unemployment rate have been attributed to people dropping out of the workforce.

However, Freddie and its sister agency, Fannie Mae, both had positive news on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that Freddie was poised to name Donald Layton, the former head of E*Trade, as its new CEO, filling a key post at the mortgage giant. Fannie Mae reported its best earnings result since the subprime mortgage collapse, with a first quarter profit of $2.7 billion.

Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 3.05 percent from 3.07 percent in the previous week and 3.82 percent in the prior year. Five-year Treasury-indexed adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) were down to 2.81 percent from 2.85 percent in the prior week and 3.41 percent in the previous year.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 2.73 percent, up from 2.70 percent in the previous week, but below 3.11 percent in the prior year.