Rates on most mortgages unchanged over past week
Rates on 30-year mortgages were unchanged this week while rates on other types of mortgages also showed little movement.
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.40 percent this week, the same as last week.
The nationwide average for 30-year mortgages had dipped in mid-September to 6.31 percent, the lowest level since mid-May, but have generally been trending higher since that time.
Analysts attributed the flat pattern for rates this week to mixed economic reports.
“While retail sales were strong in September, consumer confidence fell below market expectations in October,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac.
Both Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave speeches this week warning that the severe slump in housing is likely to last longer than expected.
The Fed cut interest rates for the first time in four years at its September meeting and economists believe the central bank could cut rates again at its next meeting on Oct. 30 and 31 if the economic data weakens further. The Commerce Department reported this week that construction of new homes fell to a 14-year low in September.
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, averaged 6.08 percent this week, up only slightly from 6.06 percent last week.
Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 6.11 percent, basically unchanged from 6.12 percent the previous week.
Rates on one-year ARMs edged up to 5.76 percent, compared to 5.73 percent last week.
The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Thirty-year mortgages and five-year ARMS both carried a nationwide average fee of 0.5 point. The 15-year mortgage and the one-year ARM both had a fee of 0.6 point.
A year ago, 30-year mortgages stood at 6.36 percent, 15-year mortgages were at 6.06 percent, five-year ARMS averaged 6.11 percent and one-year ARMs were at 5.57 percent.
The worst slump in housing in 16 years has worsened in recent months in the face of rising mortgage defaults as many homeowners are having trouble making higher payments as their low introductory adjustable-rate mortgages reset to higher rates.
Send your real estate news 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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