WASHINGTON (AP) - Long-term U.S. mortgage rates were mixed this week, continuing to hover near all-time lows.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan edged up to 3.26% from 3.23% last week, which was the lowest level since Freddie started tracking rates in 1971. A year ago, the rate stood at 4.10%.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 2.73% from 2.77% last week.
Consumer confidence in housing was pushed in April to its lowest level since November 2011 as the economy and housing market reeled from the shutdown spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, the other large mortgage buyer, Fannie Mae, said Thursday. Its survey showed consumers reporting a sharply more pessimistic view of home buying and selling conditions.
The latest blow of economic news came Thursday with the government report that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits because of the pandemic has soared past 33 million.
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