NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Mortgage rates fell for the first time in five weeks, kept in check by the relatively stable trading on the financial markets, a survey showed Thursday.
According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year long-term mortgage averaged 7.13 percent for the week ending April 5, with an average 0.7 point payable up front to the lender. The rate was down slightly from last week's 7.18 percent. The mortgage rate averaged 7.01 percent at this time last year.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.64 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, also a bit lower than last week's average 6.69 percent. The rate averaged 6.54 percent during the same week a year ago.
(For more on interest rates, check out CNN/Money's Bond & Rate center.)
At the same time, one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) indexed to the Treasury averaged 4.99 percent this week, with an average 0.8 point, down from last week's average 5.11 percent. Last year at the same time, the rate averaged 6.23 percent.
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"Currently the market is relatively stable while it looks to see if there are any remaining weak spots in the economy and, if so, what those spots might be," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist. "But, at the moment, there seems to be nothing that would indicate that anything that might seriously disrupt the market and cause mortgage rates to rise appreciably."
Nothaft noted that the economy might not be recovering as fast as expected, as evidenced by the high jobless claims numbers Thursday, but that the March employment figures due out Friday should show additional job growth for the year.
Freddie Mac (FRE: up $1.32 to $66.45, Research, Estimates), or Federal Home Mortgage Corp., is a publicly traded company the government established in 1970 to provide a flow of funds to mortgage lenders.
It buys mortgages from banks, bundles them and then resells them as mortgage-backed securities. Its products, and the products of other similar entities, have become increasingly popular as an alternative to government-backed bonds, particularly with international investors.
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