Anticipation of recovery continuing into new year lifts rate of 30-year to 5.85%, 15-year to 5.15%. December 31, 2003: 11:30 AM EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Long-term mortgage rates ticked higher this week on the prevailing notion that the U.S. economic recovery will continue into the new year, Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Mortgage Rates
30 yr fixed mtg
5.28%
15 yr fixed mtg
4.59%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg
6.02%
5/1 ARM
4.42%
5/1 jumbo ARM
4.71%
The rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loans rose to 5.85 percent, with 0.7 of a point payable up front, in the week ended Jan. 2. Last week the 30-year averaged 5.81 percent.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 5.15 percent from 5.13 percent last week. The 15-year averaged 0.7 point payable up front.
Meanwhile, the rate on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, loosely indexed to the 10-year Treasury note, fell to 3.72 percent from 3.73 percent last week with an average 0.7 point payable up front.
Freddie Mac's average mortgage rates are based on a survey of 125 lenders nationwide. The rates include those on mortgages accepted by borrowers with good credit ratings who place a 20 percent down payment on their homes, according to Freddie Mac.
Freddie Mac (FRE: up $0.28 to $58.35, Research, Estimates), or Federal Home Loan 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.
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Its products, and the products of other similar entities, have become increasingly popular as an alternative to government-backed bonds, particularly with international investors.
