|
Mortgage rates slide
|
 |
July 6, 2000: 1:38 p.m. ET
Long-term home loan rates ease back amid dearth of major economic news
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Mortgage rates moved downward in a week when no major economic indicators were released. And according to the report released by Freddie Mac, the rates should remain fairly low until the next Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting at the end of August.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 8.16 percent for the week ending July 7, slipping from 8.22 percent a week earlier. The same mortgage was 7.65 percent a year ago.
The average for a fixed-rate 15-year mortgage was 7.88 percent this week, down from 7.92 percent the previous week. A year ago the rate was 7.30 percent.
A one-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 7.27 percent, inching up slightly from 7.26 percent the previous week. The same mortgage averaged 5.96 percent a year ago.
[Click here to see a breakdown of U.S. mortgage rates by region.]
"Mortgage rates changed modestly this week, due in part to no major economic news that would move the capital markets one way or the other," said Robert Van Order, chief economist for Freddie Mac. "We expect mortgage rates to remain below 8.25 percent at least through August, when the Federal Reserve meets again."
Freddie Mac (FRE: Research, Estimates), or Federal Home Mortgage Corp., is a publicly traded company the government established in 1970 to provide a flow of funds to mortgage lenders.
It buys mortgages from banks, bundles them, and then resells them as mortgage-backed securities. Its products and the products of other similar agencies have become increasingly popular as an alternative to government-backed bonds, particularly with international investors. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
