This week I am in New Jersey for the holidays. My sister and her family live here. Far cry from the warmer climes of Florida. Due to the holidays, Freddie Mac released its survey one day early this week. 12/24/08, Freddie Mac reported that the average mortgage interest rate for 30 year fixed-rate mortgages was 5.14% (5.23% in the southeast), down from 5.19% a week ago. The average interest rate for 15 year fixed-rate mortgages was 4.91%, down from 4.92% last week. A year ago the 30 year rate was 6.17%. Freddie Mac says that rates have not been lower since it began the survey back in 1971! Wow!
This is the eighth straight week that the rates have fallen. The Growth Domestic Product (GDP) growth fell 0.5% in the third quarter of 2008 and was due to a decrease in consumer spending. We have been hearing this on the nightly news ever since the day after Thanksgiving. These declines are expected to continue on into the new year.
Existing home sales fell 8.6% in November and this was the slowest since the summer of 1977. Nationwide, median home prices fell 12.8 over the year from November 2007 to November 2008. They say this was the largest decline since 1968, when record keeping of this data began.
If you want to learn more about Freddie Mac or see the details of their survey, go to: www.freddiemac.com and click on the link for "Current Weekly Survey". They break down the survey by specific regions in the United States so you can see how your state compares to other parts of the country. They also explain the mission of Freddie Mac and offer a lot of useful information for consumers.
If you would like to speak with a lender, you can find some at my website: www.jelwell.century21bnr.com . You can also speak with your own bank, credit union, or mortgage broker to see what your particular interest rate would be, should you decide to finance a home purchase.
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