July 20, 2008
If you can find a bank willing to make a mortgage loan, you should be able to get a pretty attractive interest rates these days. Market speculation about the Federal Reserve's future actions have sent long and short-term mortgage rates tumbling.
According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) fell to 6.26 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending July 17, 2008, from last week when it averaged 6.37 percent. A year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.73 percent.
The average for the 15-year fixed-rate loan, often used in re-financings, averaged 5.78 percent with an average 0.6 point this week, down 13 basis points from last week. The 15-year FRM averaged 6.38 percent a year ago at this time
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.80 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, compared with 5.82 percent last week. Last year at this time, it averaged 6.35 percent.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.10 percent this week with an average 0.6 point. Last week, it averaged 5.17 percent and a year ago the average was 5.72 percent.
"Mortgage rates fell this week amid market speculation that the Federal Reserve may not raise the overnight bank-lending rate this year after all," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Some of the factors motivating the change in market perceptions this week included retail sales for June rising at the slowest pace since February and consumer sentiment in July holding at low levels not seen since 1980.
In his July 15th semi-annual testimony before Congress, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that the FOMC participants had considerable uncertainty surrounding their outlook for economic growth.
