Long-Term Mortgage Rates Remain Flat

---

(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 4.98 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending January 28, 2010, down slightly from last week when it averaged 4.99 percent.  Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.10 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.39 percent with an average 0.6 point, down slightly from last week when it averaged 4.40 percent.  A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.80 percent.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.25 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.27 percent.  A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.27 percent.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.29 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.32 percent.  At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.90 percent.

"Mortgage rates held steady this week ahead of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) policy committee meetings," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.  "The Fed announced on January 27th that economic activity has continued to strengthen.  It also noted that with substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures and with longer-term inflation expectations stable, inflation is likely to be subdued for some time.

"Last year was rough on the housing market.  The number of new one-family housing starts hit a historical low of just under half-a-million units since records began in 1959.  Similarly, new home sales were under 400,000 homes, an all-time record since data compilation began in 1963. Total existing home sales, however, rose to almost 5 million houses, which was the first annual increase in four years."

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

---