Mortgage Rates Slightly Ease This Week, says Freddie Mac

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According to Freddie Mac's (NYSE:FRE) newest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) , the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.07 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending April 15, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 5.21 percent.  Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.82 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.40 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.52 percent.  A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.48 percent.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.08 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.25 percent.  A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.88 percent.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.13 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.14 percent.  At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.91 percent.

"After rising for four consecutive weeks, mortgage rates eased back to where they were two weeks ago and still remain historically low," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.  "The Federal Reserve (Fed) indicated in its April 14th regional business survey that consumer prices generally remained level and producers had difficulty passing along increases in some raw materials. This will likely keep inflation at bay as evidenced by the 1.1 percent growth in core consumer prices for the 12-months ending in March 2010, which was the lowest annual increase since January 2004.

"Low mortgage rates continue to help stabilize the housing market. The Fed noted that residential activity increased while home prices were stable across most of its 12 Districts over the six weeks prior to April 5th.  In addition, credit standards remained generally unchanged across the nation, while credit quality was mixed according to the report."

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, 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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