The average rate of the 30-year fixed mortgage in the US hit a new low this week, dropping to 3.88 percent from 3.89 percent a week ago, according to data released by Freddie Mac.
This is the seventh consecutive week in which the rate has stayed below four percent.
Meanwhile, the average 15-year mortgage rate, which is popular among refinancing homeowners, reached 3.17 percent, an increase from the 3.16 percent witnessed in the previous week.
“Mortgage rates were nearly unchanged this holiday week in lieu of a mixed bag of economic data reports,” said Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac.
He noted that retail mortgage sales climbed a mere 0.1 percent in December but the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence index continued to increase in January to its highest record since February 2011.
Encouraging signs of activity in the housing sector were witnessed in the previous months, as construction began to pick up, although sales prices and volumes remained weak, with many economists predicting little to no growth in prices for 2012.
Based on Freddie Mac’s data, the number of house-building permits released hit an annualised rate of 679,000 in December, up 7.8 percent compared to the same period in 2010. However, the rate was basically flat, down 0.1 percent against November 2011. The previous year was the worst year on record for new residential construction.
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