U.S. Mortgage Rates Remain Flat This Week

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According to Freddie Mac's (OTC: FMCC) latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey  (PMMS), the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate rose slightly for the third consecutive week.  The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate eased back down a little while the 5-year and 1-year ARMs set another low.

Freddie Mac's chief economist Frank Nothaft commented, "With little sign of inflation to push up long-term interest rates, fixed mortgage rates held relatively steady this week, while ARM rates hit new all-time record lows. The core price index for personal expenditures, a gauge closely followed by the Federal Reserve (Fed), rose 1.1 percent over the 12-months ending in September and represented the smallest increase since September 2001. In its November 3rd monetary policy committee statement, the Fed affirmed that measures of underlying inflation are somewhat low, relative to levels that the committee judges to be consistent, over the longer run, with its dual mandate."
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.24 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending November 4, 2010, up slightly from last week when it averaged 4.23 percent.  Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.98 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.63 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.66 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.40 percent.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.39 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.41 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.35 percent. The 5-year ARM has not been lower since Freddie Mac started tracking it in January 2005.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.26 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.30 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.47 percent. The 1-year ARM sets another survey low this week.



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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