|
Rate Update
April 18 2008
30 Year mortgages
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company,
reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.88
percent this week, where they have been for the past three weeks.
The 30-year rate, which had been at
5.85 percent the week of March 27, edged up slightly to 5.88 percent
the following week and has stayed at that level, remaining below the
6 percent level for five straight weeks.
But other rates showed declines, which
analysts attributed to rising hopes that the Federal Reserve,
responding to weak economic data, will move at the end of this month
to cut interest rates again.
“March’s housing starts were the lowest
since March 1991 and consumer sentiment in April fell to a 26-year
low while home builder confidence remains near record lows,” said
Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.
He said these and other statistics
suggesting the economy may be in a recession are prompting investors
to expect a further rate cut when Fed officials next meet on April
29-30.
Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages,
a popular choice for refinancing, dipped to 5.40 percent, down from
5.42 percent last week.
Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages
dropped slightly to 5.48 percent, down from 5.56 percent last week.
Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages slipped to 5.10 percent,
compared to 5.18 percent last week.
The mortgage rates do not include
add-on fees known as points. For 30-year mortgages, the nationwide
average fee was 0.4 point while the average fee was 0.5 point for
15-year mortgages. The average fee was 0.6 point for five-year
adjustable-rate mortgages and one-year ARMs.
A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages
stood at 6.17 percent, 15-year mortgage rates averaged 5.89 percent,
five-year adjustable-rate mortgages were 5.92 percent and one-year
adjustable-rate mortgages were at 5.45 percent.
Many economists believe the country has
fallen into a recession, something that hasn’t occurred since 2001.
The country is being hurt by a combination of a prolonged housing
slump, a severe credit crisis and now, rising unemployment.
Source: ap.org
|
