30-year fixed mortgage rate remains stubbornly in place

No matter what the economic data shows, mortgage rates seemingly can't be swayed these days. The 30-year fixed rate - the most popular home loan product - has barely stirred since early last month.

According to the latest data, released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 2.86% with an average 0.7 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1% of the loan amount. They are additional to the interest rate.) It was 2.88% a week ago and 2.87% a year ago. Since the 30-year fixed average jumped from 2.77% to 2.87% in early August, it has essentially held steady the past six weeks.

Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage investor, aggregates rates from about 80 lenders across the country to come up with weekly national averages. The survey is based on mortgages for home purchases. Rates for refinances may be different. The survey uses rates for high-quality borrowers with strong credit scores and large down payments. Because of the criteria, these rates are not available to all borrowers.

The 15-year fixed-rate average fell to 2.12%, with an average 0.6 point. It was 2.19% a week ago and 2.35% a year ago. The five-year adjustable-rate average jumped to 2.51%, with an average 0.1 point. It was 2.42% a week ago and 2.96% a year ago.

"Mortgage rates moved slightly lower this week, barely budging as markets await a signal for a more pronounced move in either direction," said Matthew Speakman, a senior economist at Zillow. "Rates have stayed basically flat over the past few weeks, and where they head from here is dependent on two key factors: covid-19 cases and potential actions taken by the Federal Reserve."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its consumer price index this week, which showed prices rose 5.3% last month in comparison with a year ago. The more modest increase eased...