WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Benchmark mortgage rate remained steady in the United States last week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac, said Thursday.

For the week ending Dec. 5, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) in the United States remained at 3.68 percent.

However, the benchmark 30-year FRM was still significantly lower than that in the previous year, when it averaged 4.75 percent.

Besides, Freddie Mac noted that the 15-year FRM this week edged down to 3.14 percent from previous week's 3.15 percent, lower than the figure of 4.21 percent for the same period last year.

"This week the economy sent mixed signals, leaving mortgage rates unchanged," said Sam Khater, chief economist of Freddie Mac.

"Survey data for manufacturing and service industries varied while construction spending fell modestly. However, homebuyer demand continued to improve, rising 8 percent. Clearly homebuyers remain bullish on the real estate market," said Khater.

Freddie Mac is a corporation founded by U.S. Congress, aimed at promoting the stability and affordability in the U.S. housing market by purchasing mortgages from banks and other loan makers. The corporation has been conducting weekly surveys on U.S. mortgage rate since April 1971. Enditem

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