Mortgage rates dip on weak economic news

Published December 4, 2014 by Jessica Sabbath

Average mortgage rates fell Thursday to their lowest level since May 2013 amid weak economic news.

The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.89 percent this week, down from 3.97 percent from last week, according to McLean-based Freddie Mac's weekly survey. That compares to an average of 4.46 percent last year.

The average 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.1 percent, down from 3.17 percent last week. That rate a year ago was 3.47 percent.

The rates dipped after economic news failed to meet expectations.

“Mortgage rates were down across the board on a week of underwhelming economic releases,” Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement. “New home sales missed consensus expectations by selling at an annual pace of 458,000 units in October and the National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales dipped in October by 1.1 percent. The ADP's estimate for payroll growth in November was 208,000 jobs, under expectations of 225,000.”