US Mortgage rate inches lower

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The national average interest rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan averaged 5.07% in the week ending Thursday, down from last week’s 5.08% and the year-ago 5.93%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. The 15-year fixed-rate loan averaged 4.50%, down from the week-ago 4.54% and the year-ago 5.54%. The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.51%, compared with 4.59% a week ago and 5.87% a year ago. “Mortgage rates remained historically low over the past two weeks, keeping housing very affordable,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s vice president and chief economist. “As a result, mortgage applications leapt 17% over the week ending Sept. 4, led by a 23% jump in refinancing demand, according [to] the Mortgage Bankers Association.”