Mortgage Rates Keep Steady

Mortgage rates showed little change this week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The PMMS showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at an average of 2.87%, up just 0.01% from the previous week's average. That being said, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is still considerably lower than its average of 3.73% from a year ago.

"Despite the recession, the very low mortgage environment has spurred many first-time homebuyers to jump into the real estate market," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "In August, first-time homebuyer activity rose 19 percent from July to the highest monthly level ever for Freddie Mac. The first-time homebuyer driven rebound in the housing market has come at a critical time for the economy."

Additionally, the 15-year fixed-rate averaged 2.35%, down from last week's average of 2.37. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage showed the biggest change dropping from 3.11% to 2.96%.

Read the full Primary Mortgage Market Survey.