30-year-mortgage Rate Falls To 3.97%

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.97% in the week that ended Oct. 16, hitting the lowest level since June 2013, from the prior week's reading of 4.12%, according to a Thursday report from federally controlled mortgage-buyer Freddie Mac . "Mortgage rates were down sharply following the decline in the 10-year Treasury yield for the second straight week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie's chief economist, citing investors' concerns about European growth. A year ago, the 30-year rate was at 4.28%. The average rate for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.18% in the latest week from 3.30% in the prior week. Meanwhile, the rate for a 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage tumbled to 2.92% from 3.05%. The rate for a 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM fell to 2.38% from 2.42%.