|
Mortgage rates dip again
|
 |
December 7, 2000: 5:16 p.m. ET
Rates react to economic slowdown by hitting new 17-month lows
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Mortgage rates dipped for the second week, reaching their lowest level in 17 months.
Rates reacted favorably to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's remarks earlier this week of a slowing U.S. economy.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 7.54 percent for the week ending Dec. 8, its lowest level in 17 months and down from last week's average of 7.65 percent. A year ago, the same mortgage averaged 7.84 percent.
The average this week for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.19 percent, its lowest in 17 months, down from the previous week's average at 7.35 percent. A year ago, the same rate stood at 7.45 percent.
One-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) this week averaged 7.21 percent, down from last week's average of 7.24 percent. The same mortgage averaged 6.45 percent this time last year.
[Click here to see a breakdown of U.S. mortgage rates by region.]
Greenspan's admission of an economic slowdown could be a hint that the Fed may be ready to lower interest rates, said Robert Van Order, chief economist for Freddie Mac. "This perception, in turn caused mortgage rates to drop to their current lows," said Van Order.
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Depending on the employment figures to be released tomorrow, mortgage rates could very well be even lower next week.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Robert Van Order
Freedie Mac |
|
"And over the last few days rates have continued to move lower. Depending on the employment figures to be released tomorrow, mortgage rates could very well be even lower next week."
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 entities, have become increasingly popular as an alternative to government-backed bonds, particularly with international investors. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
