Amid a newly released weaker than expected jobs report, mortgage rates were back on a downward spiral this week. For the 11th consecutive week, the average on 30-year mortgage rates has stayed below 4 percent. Also, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped below 3 percent this week, the first time since April this year, Freddie Mac reports.
“Calling the September jobs report disappointing is an understatement,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The sputtering U.S. economy added only 142,000 jobs. To make matters worse, there were downward revisions to the prior two months. Hourly wages were flat, and the labor force participation rate fell to 62.4 percent, the lowest rate since 1977. In response, Treasury yields dipped below 2 percent triggering a 9 basis point tumble in the 30-year mortgage rate to 3.76 percent.”
Read more on REALTOR Magazine here.
