Mortgage Rates Drop Slightly

(RTTNews) - Mortgage rates, or interest rates on home loans, dropped slightly from last week, impacted by "economic uncertainty," according to mortgage provider Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB).

Releasing the results of its primary mortgage market survey, Freddie Mac said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage or FRM averaged 5.25 percent for the week ending May 19, 2022, down from 5.30 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the average rate was 3.00 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.43, down from 4.48 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.29 percent.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage or ARM averaged 4.08 percent, up from 3.98 percent last week. It was 2.59 percent a year ago.

"Economic uncertainty is causing mortgage rate volatility," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's Chief Economist. "As a result, purchase demand is waning, and homebuilder sentiment has dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years. Builders are also dealing with rising costs, meaning this posture is likely to continue."