Mortgage Rates Rise On Positive Economic News Reported During The 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 4.84 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 7, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 4.78 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.05 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.51 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.48 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 4.90 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.80 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.67 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.78 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.77 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.29 percent.

"Mortgage rates rose slightly this week amid positive economic news that the economy may be approaching the bottom of the recession," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "In terms of the household sector, the final April estimate of consumer sentiment, as measured by the University of Michigan, was revised above the market consensus. On the business side, the ISM Manufacturing Index for April also exceeded market expectations.

"In addition, the positive news was corroborated by Fed Chairman Bernanke when he stated that he expects economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year. He also noted that the housing market is beginning to stabilize. For instance, pending existing home sales rose for the second consecutive time in March and represented the first back-to-back monthly increase since March 2008. Furthermore, in its April 2009 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, the Federal Reserve found the demand for prime mortgages rose for the first time since April 2007 when it first began collecting such detailed mortgage data."

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.



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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