Mortgage rates down sharply

/

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell sharply this week amid concern over a labor market that has shown recent signs of weakness.

downloadMortgage giant Freddie Mac says the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.76 percent from 3.85 percent a week earlier.

The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages declined to 2.99 percent from 3.07 percent, Associated Press reported.

Rates have stayed below 4 percent for 11 straight weeks. This week's decline brought rates to levels far below last year's levels. A year ago, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 4.19 percent while the rate for 15-year loans was 3.36 percent.

A government report issued last Friday showed that U.S. hiring slowed sharply in September, and job gains for July and August were lower than previously thought.

avatar

John Hielscher

John Hielscher is a business reporter for the Herald-Tribune Media Group. Contact him by phone at (941) 361-4875 or by email
Last modified: October 8, 2015
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published without permissions. Links are encouraged.