The mortgage rate picture this week was mixed. Rates on 30-year and 15-year mortgages went up, while rates on one-year adjustable mortgages went down.
Freddie Mac’s weekly survey released Wednesday showed rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.75 percent, compared with 5.68 percent last week.
Rates on 30-year mortgages hit a high this year of 6.34 percent the week of May 13. They slowly drifted downward as the economy hit a late spring-early summer soft spot. Recent economic data suggest the economy is expanding at a solid pace.
Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages – a popular option for refinancing – rose to 5.18 percent this week, up from 5.11 percent last week.
This week’s 30-year and 15-year rates were the highest since the beginning of December. Long-term mortgage rates have remained well behaved even as the Fed boosted short-term interest rates five times this year. That’s because inflation, while creeping higher, is not currently viewed as a danger to the economy, analysts say.
One-year adjustable rate mortgages, meanwhile, dipped slightly to 4.17 percent this week, compared with 4.18 percent last week.
The nationwide averages for mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Each loan type carried a 0.6 point fee.
A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages averaged 5.82 percent with 15-year mortgages at 5.14 percent and one-year ARMs at 3.77 percent.
Low mortgages rates have supported home sales, which are expected to hit record highs for all of 2004. Sales next year should also do well, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The association’s chief economist, David Lereah, predicts rates on 30-year mortgages will slowly rise next year to around 6.4 percent, still fairly low by historical standards.
The Mortgage Bankers Association, meanwhile, reported that refinancings accounted for 48.9 percent of all mortgage loan applications filed last week, up from 46 percent the previous week.
People
Lynn McKinney has joined the Edmonds office of John L. Scott as a sales agent.
Seminars
A national home environmentalist course will be offered by Edmonds Community College. The course, which provides information about indoor air pollution, household toxic products, mold, dust mites and ventilation, will be held on eight consecutive Tuesday evenings 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. beginning Feb. 1. Call 425-640-1459.
Send your real estate news items to Mike Benbow, Business editor, The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206, by fax at 425-339-3435, or by e-mail at economy@heraldnet.com.
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