Freddie Mac reports a drop in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.82 percent during the week ended April 16 from 4.87 percent the prior week,while interest on 15-year fixed loans fell to an average of 4.48 percent from 4.54 percent. The five-year hybrid adjustable mortgage rate slipped to 4.88 percent from 4.93 percent,but the one-year ARM rose to 4.91 percent from 4.83 percent.
Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft says,“The housing industry is starting to exhibit some positive signs,albeit scarce and too early to tell how permanent.”
[SOURCES:Freddie Mac;Information,Inc.]
