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Mortgage rates fall to 3.71 percent, hit yet another record low

Mortgage rates with a 30-year fixed interest rate declined to 3.71% since last week while the purchase application volume increased 3.0% and the refinance application volume declined 3.0% over the same period. last week's disappointing jobs report pushed mortgage rates to their 10th record low in 12 weeks.

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This chart shows the average interest rates of 15- and 30-year fixed rate mortgages over the past five years. Mortgage rates have continued to fall all summer, hitting their 10th record low in 12 weeks this week.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) publishes the results of a weekly applications survey that covers roughly 50 percent of all residential mortgage originations and tracks the average interest rate for 30 year and 15 year fixed rate mortgages as well as the volume of both purchase and refinance applications.

The purchase application index has been highlighted as a particularly important data series as it very broadly captures the demand side of residential real estate for both new and existing home purchases.

The latest data is showing that the average rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage (from FHA and conforming GSE data) declined to 3.71% since last week while the purchase application volume increased 3.0% and the refinance application volume declined 3.0% over the same period.

The following chart shows the average interest rate for 30 year and 15 year fixed rate mortgages since 2006 as well as the purchase, refinance and composite loan volumes (click for larger dynamic full-screen version).

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