Mortgage Rates Fall Slightly After Positive Economic News Week

Mortgage rates remain low as November is nearing an end, according to data released by Freddie Mac.

The government-sponsored enterprise said that rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped this week by two basis points, to 3.97%, compared to the previous week. A year ago, this type of mortgage rate was averaging 4.29%.

Meanwhile, average rates for 15-year mortgages remained unchanged week over week, at 3.17%. Freddie Mac also said that five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.01%, which is the same from a week earlier.

Rates on one-year treasury-indexed mortgages held steady on a weekly basis, at 2.44%, the McLean, Va.-based company said.

"Mortgage rates were little changed…during a week of uplifting economic news heading into the holiday. GDP growth was revised up in the third quarter from 3.5% to 3.9%, while existing homes sold at a 5.26 million unit pace in October, topping expectations of 5.15 million units," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, for Freddie Mac.