By Ruth Mantell
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Mortgage rates remained near record lows in the week ending April 26, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average declining to 3.88% from 3.90% in the prior week, Freddie Mac said Thursday in its weekly report. The rate was 4.78% a year earlier. To obtain the latest rate, payment of an average 0.7 point was required, according to Freddie, a buyer of residential mortgages. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged in prepaid interest. "Fixed mortgage rates held near record lows this week as the markets waited for the Federal Reserve's April 25th monetary policy announcement following two days of deliberations," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked down to 3.12% in the most recent week from 3.13% in the prior week. Meanwhile, the average rate on the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 2.85% from 2.78%. The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM fell to 2.74% from 2.81%.
