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Mortgages rates flatten
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October 12, 2000: 1:22 p.m. ET
Interest on home loans remain relatively unchanged as market flourishes
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Mortgage rates remained relatively unchanged this week as the housing market continued to chart a steady course, a newly released survey by Freddie Mac shows.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 7.84 percent for the week ending Oct. 13, up just barely from last week's average of 7.83 percent. A year ago, the same mortgage averaged 7.85 percent.
The average this week for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.52 percent, also up marginally from last week's average of 7.5 percent. A year ago, the same rate stood at 7.45 percent.
 One-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) this week averaged 7.23, edging up from last week's average of 7.21 percent. The same mortgage averaged 6.31 percent this time last year.
[Click here to see a breakdown of U.S. mortgage rates by region.]
"Although the economy appears to be reacting slowly to previous rate hikes by the Fed, the good news is that inflation remains under control," said Robert Van Order, chief economist for Freddie Mac. "Coupled with the fact there are no real scary numbers being reported, there is little or no upward pressure on mortgage rates. Consequently, the housing industry continues to flourish."
Giving the market a "healthy" diagnosis, Van Order also said it "may well be the second highest (year) in history for housing sales."
Freddie Mac (FRE: Research, Estimates), or Federal Home Mortgage Corp., is a publicly traded company that 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 entities, have become increasingly popular as an alternative to government-backed bonds, particularly with international investors. 
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Freddie Mac
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