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Mortgage rates remain low
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January 31, 2002: 2:08 p.m. ET
Rates gain slightly for second week; homeownership numbers remain high.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose slightly again this week, with low rates keeping homeownership numbers high, a survey showed Thursday.
According to mortgage provider Freddie Mac, the 30-year long-term mortgage averaged 7.02 percent for the week ending Feb.1, with an average of an additional 0.7 point payable up front to the lender, up from 6.96 percent last week. At this time last year, the rate averaged 7.09 percent.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week averaged 6.51 percent, with an average of 0.7 point, up from last week's 6.44 percent. The same mortgage stood at 6.66 percent during the year-ago week.
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At the same time, one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) indexed to the Treasury averaged 5.12 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, up a little from last week's average of 5.10 percent. One-year ARMs averaged 6.54 percent at this time last year.
"In 2001, homeownership rose to an all-time record of 67.8 percent of the population, fueled by low mortgage rates," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac. "Last year, mortgage rates were low and stable, averaging 6.97 percent. And this year, forecasts are for much of the same."
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. 
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