U.S. Mortgage Rates Continue to Rise New Year's Week

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According to Freddie Mac's (OTC:FMCC) latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey  (PMMS), all mortgage products increased this week except the 1-year ARM. This brings 30-year mortgage rates back to levels seen in May of this year, while the 15-year ties levels not seen since June. Even so, mortgage rates remain incredibly low.

Freddie Mac's chief economist Frank Nothaft said, "Interest rates on fixed mortgages and the 5-year Hybrid ARM rose slightly over the holiday week, but were still below the year's highs set in the first half of 2010. For the year as a whole, 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged just below 4.7 percent, which represented the lowest annual average since 1955 when secondary market yields on FHA mortgages were above 4.6 percent and the average price of a home was $22,000.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.86 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending December 30, 2010, up from last week when it averaged 4.81 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.14 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.20 percent with an average 0.8 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.15 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.54 percent.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.77 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.75 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.44 percent.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.26 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.40 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.33 percent.

Nothaft further commented, "Recent news on housing markets has been mixed. The S&P/Case-Shiller house price index fell 0.99 percent in October, in line with other reports showing a softening in house prices since mid-year. Home sales continue to recover in the months following the expiration of the Homebuyer Tax Credit, however, with sales of new and existing homes up 5.5 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, in November."



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, MS, PR, VI
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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