Mortgage rates dip
Rates expected to stay low as long as inflation remains tame.
February 21, 2002: 12:56 p.m. ET
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped slightly last week held back, in part, by low inflation levels heading into a possible economic turnaround, a survey showed Thursday.
According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year long-term mortgage averaged 6.81 percent for the week ending Feb. 22, with an average 0.7 point payable up front to the lender. That is down from 6.86 percent last week and an average 7.12 percent at this time last year.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.28 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, also down from last week's average of 6.35 percent and 6.69 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 4.96 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, down from last week's average 5.04 percent. One-year ARMs averaged 6.43 percent at this time last year.
"Leading economic indicators are signaling that the economy is turning around from recession," said Robert Van Order, Freddie Mac chief international economist. "And with inflation coming in at a very tame rate of about 1.1 percent year-over-year, the prospect of higher mortgage rates is dim indeed."
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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