Mortgage rates remain flat for the week

Mortgage rate remains flat

Freddie Mac reported in its weekly survey that fixed-rate mortgages did not change in the latest week, as they have yet to signal September's sell-off in US treasuries.

Mortgage rates have been in a prolonged decline for months and have hit record-lows, as yields on treasuries dropped amid the poor prospects of the economy.

However, yields started to appreciate by the end of last month. Rates of mortgages typically follow the progress of yields which moves inversely to treasury price levels.

“The perception of slow growth and low inflation removed any upward pressure on fixed mortgage rates this week,” said Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft.

He pointed out that the fall in average rates for 30-year fixed mortgages was sharpest in the year after the economic recession compared to the previous six years.

Last Monday, the National Bureau of Economic Research, a group of top economists, announced that the recession officially ended in June 2009.

The 30-year average for fixed-rate mortgage was 4.37 percent for the week ended Thursday, unchanged from last week's rate but down from 5.04 percent one year ago.

Meanwhile, the rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgage remained at 3.82 percent, down from 4.46 percent last year, and still the lowest value since Freddie Mac started recording it in 1991.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages had a 3.54 percent average, falling from 3.55 percent a week ago, and 4.51 percent from last year to match a record low hit two weeks prior.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMS gained to hit 3.46 percent from 3.4 percent, but still down from 4.52 percent last year.

Posted by James Fried on Friday September 24 2010, 7:24 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Finance. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0