Mortgage Rates Improve Mildly
Interest rates on home loans saw mild improvement during the week ending May 15, according to the latest weekly survey from mortgage financier Freddie Mac.
Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft said mortgage rates benefited from statements from the Fed hinting that more liquidity would be provided if needed, and data that proved inflation was being corralled.
The traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.01 percent this week, down from 6.05 percent a week earlier, while the 15-year remained unchanged at 5.60 percent.
Adjustable-rate mortgages saw more striking improvement, with the average five-year ARM falling to 5.57 percent from 5.67 percent a week ago and the one-year dipping to 5.18 percent, down from 5.29 percent.
A year ago, the 30-year averaged 6.15 percent, the 15-year averaged 5.87 percent, the five-year 5.89 percent, and the one-year 5.48 percent.
Despite the interest rate improvement, fees jumped from 0.3 percent to 0.6 percent on 30-year mortgages and from a half point to 0.6 percent on five-year ARMs.
Average mortgage points on 15-year mortgages were 0.5 percent, up from 0.3 percent, while the one-year averaged 0.7 percent, up from 0.6 percent.
(photo: smudie)
