Today 7/09/09 Freddie Mac reported that the average mortgage interest rate for 30 year fixed-rate mortgages was 5.20% (5.19% in the southeast), down from 5.32% a week ago. The average interest rate for 15 year fixed-rate mortgages was 4.69%, down from 4.77% last week. A year ago the 30 year rate was 6.37%.
This is the lowest rates have been in six weeks. There is concern over the labor market and this contributed to the continued fall in interest rates this week. Our economy lost 467,000 jobs in June and this was a little more than had been expected by the "experts". Overall unemployment was at 9.5% nationally, the highest it has been since 1983. Boy, does that seem like ancient history!!!
Weaker employment figures and lower home prices are working together to increase the numbers of defaults on home equity loans and lines of credit. When things were booming and homes were appreciating wildly, many rushed to pull the equity out of their properties. Sometimes for good reasons (send the kids to college), and some for not so wise purposes (buy a new boat). In any case, now some of those chickens have come home to roost. And being a farm boy from way back, I know that roosting birds can make one heck of a mess! If many of these homeowners had stayed with their first mortgage rather than extending its amount to pull equity out of their homes, they would probably not be defaulting in droves now.
Do keep in mind that we are a very large country. So figures that come out for the entire nation, may have little or no relevance for your particular area. In the end, it is best if you speak with a local REALTOR or financing expert to see what the situation is for your part of the United States. Florida is not Michigan, nor is Maine the same as California. Market conditions can be very different from place-to-place.
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.
I would also be happy to assist you in any way that I can. Just call me at: 813-783-4444 or e-mail me at: jelwell1@tampabay.rr.com You are also welcome at my webpage: www.jelwell.century21bnr.com
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