Average Mortgage Interest Rates Nearly at the 5% Point! 10 Week Low!

Today, 1/08/09,  Freddie Mac reported that the average mortgage interest rate for 30 year fixed-rate mortgages was 5.01% (5.07% in the southeast), down from 5.10% a week ago. The average interest rate for 15 year fixed-rate mortgages was 4.62%, down from 4.83% last week. A year ago the 30 year rate was 5.87%. Freddie Mac again stated that rates have not been lower since it began the survey back in 1971 and this is now the 10th week in a row that the rates have fallen. Will it go below 5% next week??

The drop is due in part to the Federal Reserve's purchases of mortgages backed by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and Ginnie Mae. On November 25th the Fed said that it planned to buy up to $500,000,000,000 of these groups' securities by the end of June 2009. This apparently helped drop the rates.

Since October 2008 the mortgage interest rates have declined by nearly 1.5% points and this is a savings of almost $184 per month for a $200,000 loan. Makes you wonder what are people waiting for. Rock-bottom interest rates + rock-bottom home prices = some Great Deals for those who have good credit or cash. My fear is that some will get a little too greedy and wait for the proverbial "bottom" to be reached. In the past, chasing that elusive mark has been costly for many people as they get caught when the market unexpectedly turns around and they find rates and prices rising again. Oh well, live and learn.

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.

Comments

[home loan]

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