Real estate notebook
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, August 12, 2006
Mortgage rates around the country dipped for a third week in a row, pushing 30-year mortgages to their lowest level since April.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.55 percent this week, down from 6.63 percent last week.
That was the lowest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.53 percent the week of April 20. Since that time, mortgages have been rising, hitting a more than four-year high of 6.80 percent the week of July 20.
Analysts attributed the latest decline to continued evidence that the economy is slowing, which should ease pressure on interest rates, and the decision by the Federal Reserve this week to call a temporary halt to its two-year campaign to push short-term rates higher.
Analysts said that the report last week that job growth was weak in July for a fourth straight month was just the latest evidence that the economy is slowing.
“The weaker than expected jobs report combined with the Fed’s decision to pass on raising rates at its last meeting led directly to lower rates this week,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac.
Home sales, which set record highs for five-years running, have slowed this year as higher mortgage rates and still solid home prices have made it too expensive for some people to buy a home.
Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, averaged 6.20 percent this week, down from 6.27 percent last week.
For one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, rates held steady at 5.69 percent, the same as last week, after having been at 5.78 percent the week of July 27.
Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 6.21 percent this week, from 6.27 percent last week.
The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One-year ARMS carried a nationwide average fee of 0.8 point while the other three mortgage categories carried average fees of 0.4 point.
A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 5.89 percent, 15-year mortgages were5.47 percent, one-year ARMs were at 4.57 percent and five-year ARMs averaged 5.40 percent.
Classes
A free class for first-time homebuyers will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 500 188th St. SW, Lynnwood. It’s sponsored by the state housing finance commission. The instructor will be Donna Townley of RE/MAX Champions.
Send news to Mike Benbow, Business editor, The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206, by fax to 425-339-3435 or by e-mail to economy@heraldnet.com.
