30-year-mortgage Rate Falls To 4.04%

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.04% in the week that ended July 23 from the prior week's reading of 4.09%, which was the highest rate since October, according to a Thursday report from federally controlled mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. "U.S. Treasury yields dropped following announcements that many blue chip companies' earnings failed to meet expectations," 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 4.13%. 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 3.21% in the latest week from 3.25% in the prior week. Meanwhile, the rate for a 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage ticked up to 2.97% from 2.96%. The rate for a 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM rose to 2.54% from 2.50%.