WASHINGTON – Rates on 30-year mortgages rose for a second straight week, edging up above 7 percent, according to a nationwide survey released Thursday.
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported that the average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 7.02 percent, up from 6.96 percent the previous week.
The back-to-back weekly increases followed four consecutive weekly declines that had pushed 30-year mortgages below 7 percent for the first time since early December.
Rates on 30-year mortgages hit a low of 6.45 percent in early November, their lowest point since Freddie Mac began conducting its nationwide survey in 1971.
While rates have moved higher since then, analysts believe that rates this year will be fairly stable, remaining close to the record lows set last year.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said that the low mortgage rates had helped give the housing industry strong sales in spite of the recession, pushing home-ownership to a record 67.8 percent of the population last year.
“Last year, mortgage rates were low and stable,” he said. “And this year, forecasts are for much the same.”
While the Federal Reserve on Wednesday signaled an apparent end to its yearlong effort to push the short-term rates it controls lower, analysts believe that the economic recovery will start at such a slow pace that interest rates will remain low for months to come.
Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, rose to 6.51 percent this week from 6.44 percent the week before.
On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.12 percent, up slightly from 5.10 percent the previous week.
These rates do not include add-on fees known as points, which averaged around 0.7 percent of the loan amount for all three types of mortgages last week.
People
Dennis Thomas has joined Windermere Real Estate’s Mill Creek office as a sales associate.
News
Real Estate Safety Week concludes today in Washington. It’s part of a campaign to raise awareness of safety issues among real estate agents. Last year, 21 real estate professionals were killed while showing property, including Michael Emert, who was murdered while showing a home in Woodinville.
The Council of Residential Specialists recently launched a bimonthly magazine called The Residential Specialist, which is aimed at residential sales agents. The magazine is available online at www.crs.com. Subscription information is available at the Web site, or by calling 312-321-4445.
Send your real estate news items to Mike Benbow, Economy editor, The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206, by fax at 425-339-3435, or by e-mail at economy@heraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
