NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Last week's disappointing unemployment report and the ensuing drop in Treasury yields pushed U.S. mortgage rates to six-month lows, according to mortgage finance firm Freddie Mac.
The 30-year mortgage rate fell to 5.66 percent, with 0.6 point payable up front. The rate is down from 5.89 percent in the previous week and 5.97 percent a year earlier. This marks the lowest level for the 30-year since the week ended July 11.
The 15-year mortgage also fell, with an average of 4.97 percent and 0.7 payable up front. This is down from 5.17 percent last week and 5.36 percent last year. This is also a six-month low for the 15-year.
One-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 3.62 percent, with 0.7 point, and down from 3.76 percent last week. Last year the arm averaged 4.03 percent.
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"Expecting job growth on the order of about 150,000 in December, financial markets were taken aback, to say the least, when those figures came in at only a thousand new jobs," said Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac deputy chief economist.
Freddie Mac's average mortgage rates are based on a survey of 125 lenders nationwide. The rates include those on mortgages accepted by borrowers with good credit ratings who place a 20 percent down payment on their homes, according to Freddie Mac.
Freddie Mac (FRE: up $0.13 to $59.60, Research, Estimates), or Federal Home Loan 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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