30-year Mortgage Rate Drops To 3.98%

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.98% in the week that ended July 30, falling to the lowest level in almost two months, from the prior week's reading of 4.04%, according to a Thursday report from federally controlled mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. "Monday's 8% decline in Chinese stock prices triggered similar - though smaller - sell-offs in global equity markets. The associated flight to quality drove U.S. Treasury yields down nearly 5 basis points," said Sean Becketti, Freddie's chief economist. Changes in long-term-mortgage rates closely track movements on the yield for the 10-year Treasury note. A year ago, the 30-year rate was at 4.12%. A record low of 3.31% for the 30-year mortgage was reached in November 2012. The average rate for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.17% in the latest week from 3.21% in the prior week. Meanwhile, the rate for a 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage decreased to 2.95% from 2.97%. The rate for a 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM declined to 2.52% from 2.54%.