As unemployment increased, mortgage rates decreased for the week ending July 14, according to ""Freddie Mac's"":http://www.freddiemac.com/ weekly report released Thursday.
[IMAGE]The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.51 percent (0.7 point), a decrease from last week when the rate was 4.60 percent. The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage also showed a decrease from this time last year when the rate was 4.57 percent.
The 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate for the week averaged 3.65 percent (0.6 point), down 0.1 percentage point from last week's average of 3.75 percent. The rate is also down from this time last year when the average was 4.06 percent.
[COLUMN_BREAK]The 5-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage average decreased only slightly from 3.30 percent last week to 3.29 percent (o.6 point). This time last year, the rate averaged 3.85 percent.
The 1-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.95 percent (0.5 point) the week ending June 14. The rate is lower than last week's average of 3.01 percent and last year's average of 3.74 percent.
""Long-term bond yields and mortgage rates fell this week following a weak employment report,"" said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.
""The economy added 18,000 jobs in June, well below the market consensus forecast, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent, the highest since December 2010,"" he added.
""In addition, employee wages stagnated. These factors may lead to less consumer spending, which in turn, reduces the threat of inflation in the near term,"" Nothaft said.
Freddie Mac calculates average interest rates based on data from about 125 lenders across the country.