WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Long-term mortgage rates dropped in the week ending Thursday in part due to low jobs numbers in December, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said.
The Labor Department on Friday said the economy added 74,000 jobs in December, far lower than expected.
Rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages slipped from 4.51 percent to 4.41 percent with an average 0.7 point in the past week.
A year ago, rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.38 percent.
Rates for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose from 3.56 percent to 3.45 percent with an average 0.7 point in the week. A year ago in the same week, 15-year, fixed-rate loans averaged 2.66 percent.
Among the shorter-duration loans, rates for five-year Treasury-indexed, hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.1 percent this week with an average 0.4 point. Rates a week ago averaged 3.15 percent. A year ago, they averaged 2.67 percent.
Rates for one-year, Treasury-indexed, adjustable-rate loans averaged 2.56 percent in the week with 0.5 points, unchanged for the third consecutive week.
Last year over the same period, rates for one-year, adjustable-rate loans averaged 2.57 percent.
One point is equal to 1 percent of the amount of the loan and is typically paid up front. It includes a corresponding discount on the loan's long-term interest rates.
