Complain about a product or service

Little Movement in Mortgage Rates This Week

30-year rate at 6.05%

May 9, 2008

According to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.05 percent with an average 0.3 point, compared with an average of 6.06 percent last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.21 percent.

The 15-year loan averaged 5.60 percent this week with an average 0.3 point, up one basis point from last week’s 5.59 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.92 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) dropped to an average 5.67 percent this week, with an average 0.5 point, from last week ‘s percent. It averaged 5.92 percent a year ago.

And, one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.29 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from the last two weeks. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.48 percent.

“Despite a weak housing market, mortgage rates remained almost unchanged this week based on better-than-expected economic data releases that indicated the economy still has some staying power,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

The releases showed that job losses lessened in April and conditions in both the manufacturing and service industry outperformed market forecasts. Worker productivity also rose in the first quarter as increases in labor costs diminished.

“The housing market is still struggling amid falling house prices and stricter lending standard,” said Nothaft. “Coupled with higher delinquency and foreclosure rates, a smaller share of families own their homes this year.”

The national homeownership rate held at 67.8 percent in the first quarter of 2008, down from its recent peak of 69.0 percent in the third quarter of 2006 and was the lowest rate since 67.6 percent in the second quarter of 2002, according to the Census Bureau.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |