|
Mortgage rates decline
|
 |
September 16, 1999: 1:09 p.m. ET
Rates subside for first time in four weeks, Freddie Mac reports
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Mortgage rates dropped for the first time in four weeks, mortgage firm Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
For the week ending Sept. 17, the average rate on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 7.82 percent, down from last week's 7.88 percent. One year ago, the rate was 6.66 percent.
Fifteen-year loan rates fell to 7.43 percent from 7.49 percent the week before. The rate for these mortgages averaged 6.35 percent for the same period last year.
One-year adjustable-rate mortgages were 6.22 percent, up slightly from last week's 6.21 percent. A year ago, the rate was 5.43 percent.
(Click here to see a breakdown of average mortgage rates by U.S. region.)
"Continuing news that inflation has been kept in check so far this year translated into relatively stable mortgage interest rates, which has sustained the booming housing market," Freddie Mac chief economist Robert Van Order said.
The economist predicts housing will remain an affordable, attractive investment well into next year.
|
|
|
|
|
 |

|