30-year mortgage rate falls to 3.90%

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30-year mortgage rate falls to 3.90%
from MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.90% in the week ending March 1, remaining near a record low, Freddie Mac said Thursday in its weekly report on mortgage rates. The rate was 4.87% a year earlier. "Fixed mortgage rates bottomed out in January and February of this year which is helping spur the housing market," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. To obtain the latest rate, payment of an average 0.8 point was required, according to Freddie, a buyer of residential mortgages. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged in prepaid interest. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.17% in the latest week from 3.19% in the prior week. Meanwhile, the average rate on the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 2.83% from 2.80% in the prior week. The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM ticked lower to 2.72% from 2.73%.