Rates on the most popular types of mortgages legged downward according to HSH.com's Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by six basis points (0.06 percent) to 4.33 percent. Conforming 5/1 Hybrid ARM rates decreased by seven basis points, closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at an average of 3.15 percent.
"Lower mortgage rates are back in the market this week as a result of the government shutdown and restart," said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. "The as-yet unclear direct economic damage from the shutdown, plus the interruption in the flow of reports about economic growth and inflation, have given the markets reason to believe that the Federal Reserve will not make changes to its policies anytime soon, so rates had some room to fall."
One of the important reports that were delayed in being released was the national employment report for September. It was released Tuesday, almost three weeks late, and showed a lackluster increase of 148,000 new hires for the month, even as the unemployment ticked down to 7.2 percent.
"Although economic reports are again flowing, helping to provide a clearer picture of the economy, the picture they reveal may still not be all that pretty, and this too may give the Fed pause for a while longer," said Gumbinger. "However, the Fed's stated goal is to extricate itself from direct manipulation of long-term interest rates, and with that goal in mind, they won't be on hold forever."
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the week ending Oct. 22, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 4.33 percent
►Average points: 0.17
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 3.15 percent
►Average points: 0.11
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the previous week ending October 15 were, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
►Average Rate: 4.39 percent
►Average Points: 0.23
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
►Average Rate: 3.22 percent
►Average Points: 0.16
