Mortgage Rates Drop This Week

fter four straight weeks of rising, mortgage rates dropped this week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly market survey.

Here are how rates fared for the week:
30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.80 percent, down from last week’s 4.91 percent average. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.07 percent.
15-year fixed-rate mortgage: averaged 4.02 percent, down from last week’s 4.13 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year mortgage averaged 4.39 percent.
5-year adjustable-rate mortgage: averaged 3.61 percent this week, down from last week when it averaged 3.78 percent. Last year at this time, the 5-year ARM stood at 4.03 percent.

"Low inflation is keeping mortgage rates at bay,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.