WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Average interest rates for long-term mortgages dropped slightly after a five week run up, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.
The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped from 4.83 percent to 4.81 percent with 0.7 points. Average interest rates for 15-year contracts fell from 4.17 percent to 4.15 percent with 0.7 points, Freddie Mac said.
Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages a year ago stood at 4.45 percent. Rates for 30-year mortgages a year ago averaged 5.05 percent.
"Economic reports in December have suggested the economy began regaining momentum toward the end of the year," Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said in a statement. In response, "Treasury yields backed up as this stronger growth outlook caused an improvement in risk appetites and the likelihood of deflation to recede further," he said.
