Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for a second straight week.
Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of mortgage rates released Thursday showed that rates on 30-year, fixed rate mortgages averaged 5.74 percent for the week ending Jan. 13, down from 5.77 percent last week.
Low mortgage rates have powered home sales. Analysts believe sales hit a record high for all of 2004 and the housing market is expected to post another good year in 2005. Some analysts believe rates on 30-year mortgages could climb to around 6.5 percent by the end of this year.
Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, dipped this week to 5.19 percent, down from 5.21 percent last week. For one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, rates remained unchanged at 4.10 percent.
A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages averaged 5.66 percent with 15-year mortgages at 4.97 percent and one-year ARMs at 3.62 percent.
Seminars
A reverse mortgage seminar will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the South County Senior Center, 220 Railroad Ave. in Edmonds. All seniors 65 and older are welcome. In other center news, free property tax assistance will be offered on the second Thursday of each month from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. beginning Feb. 10 at the center. For details, call 425-774-5555.
A first-time homebuyer class will be offered from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 1 and Feb. 1 at Lynnwood Fire Station 15 at 188th Street SW and 44th Avenue W. The class will be taught by Duane Martin of Countrywide Home Loans. Call 866-666-1000 to register.
Send 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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