WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Average interest rates for long-term mortgages slid to record lows for the seventh consecutive week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.
In the latest weekly survey, Freddie Mac said interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate contracts dropped from 4.54 percent with an average of 0.7 points to 4.49 percent, a record low for the 39-year interest rate survey.
A year ago, Freddie Mac said, the interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 5.22 percent.
Average rates for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell from 4 percent to 3.954 percent in the week ending Aug. 5. Points for 15-year mortgages also averaged 0.6 during the week.
Average rates for five-year adjustable mortgage rates also hit a record low at 3.63 percent with an average 0.6 points.
Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said, "Annual revisions cut the cumulative gross domestic product in half over the past three years ending in the first quarter of 2010 from 1.4 percent to 0.6 percent.
"This reduces inflationary pressures and allows longer-term rates room to ease," he said.
