Mortgage Rates Fall Back A Bit This Week

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(News Source: Freddie Mac)

(MCLEAN, VA) -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.03 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 12, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 5.15 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.13 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.64 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.72 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.60 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 4.99 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.08 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.58 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.80 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.86 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.14 percent.

(Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total cost of obtaining the mortgage.)

"Mortgage rates followed bond yields higher this week following reports of record continuing jobless claims and a downward revision in economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2008," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Real Gross Domestic Product was revised from a 3.8 percent decline to a 6.2 percent drop in the fourth quarter mostly led by a 4.3 percent fall in consumer spending, which was the largest decrease since the second quarter of 1980.

"The housing market continues to slow as well. New home sales fell 10.2 percent in January to the slowest pace since records began in January 1963 while pending existing home sales slowed by 7.7 percent, the weakest since the series began in January 2001. More recently the Federal Reserve noted in its March 4th regional economic report that residential real estate markets remained in the doldrums in most areas, with only scattered, very tentative signs of stabilization."

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.


Summary of Survey Results




Freddie Mac defines its regions as follows:

Northeast: NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT
Southeast: NC, SC, TN, KY, GA, AL, FL, PR, VI, MS
North Central: OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN, IA, ND, SD
Southwest: TX, LA, NM, OK, AR, MO, KS, CO, NE, WY
West: CA, AZ, NV, OR, WA, UT, ID, MT, HI, AK, GU

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