Mortgage Rates Move Little This Week -Freddie Mac

By Amy Hoak

Mortgage rates barely moved this week, and the average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage didn't change at all, according to Freddie Mac's (FRE) weekly survey, released on Thursday.

The 15-year mortgage averaged 4.80% for the week ending Jan. 29, as it did last week. The mortgage averaged 5.17% a year ago.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10% this week, down from last week's 5.12% average. The mortgage averaged 5.68% a year ago.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.27%, up from last week's 5.24%; the ARMs averaged 5.32% a year ago. And one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.90%, down from last week's 4.92%; the ARMs averaged 5.05% a year ago.

To obtain the rates, the fixed-rate mortgages required payment of an average 0.7 point, and the ARMs required payment of an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest. The Freddie Mac survey covers conforming mortgages.

"Mortgage rates held steady this week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a news release. "The index of leading indicators rose 0.3% in December, the first increase in six months, fueled by an expansion in the money supply. However, the Federal Reserve acknowledged in its January 28 policy committee statement that since December the economy has weakened further."

Still, housing affordability is at its highest level since 1973, according to the National Association of Realtors, he said. The increase in existing home sales in December was motivated by two key factors:

"Both the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite index, which registered an 18% annual decline through November, and the National Association of Realtors sales data, down 15% in December from a year ago, indicate sharply lower house prices across many U.S. metropolitan areas," Nothaft said. "At the same time, interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages reached a 50-year low toward the end of December."

According to results of a separate survey, released by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday, mortgage application volume decreased 38.8% last week, compared with the week before.

-By Amy Hoak; 415-439-6400; [e-mail]

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