30-year average falls to 5.63%, 5-year also dips, but 1-year rises ahead of anticipated rate hike. February 4, 2005: 1:04 PM EST
Current Mortgage Rates
Type
Overall avgs
30 yr fixed mtg
6.41%
15 yr fixed mtg
5.97%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg
7.59%
5/1 ARM
5.92%
5/1 jumbo ARM
6.40%
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Long-term mortgage rates fell for the fourth week, while one-year rates rose ahead of the widely anticipated rate hike, a Freddie Mac survey said Thursday.
For the week ending Feb. 3, the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 5.63 percent, with an average 0.7 of a point payable up front, down from 5.66 percent the previous week. A year earlier, the rate on the 30-year fixed-rate loan stood at 5.72 percent.
The average 15-year mortgage rate averaged 5.14 percent, with a 0.7 percent payable up front, unchanged from the prior week. A year ago, the 15-year rate averaged 5.03 percent.
Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.00 percent, with an average 0.6 point payable up front, down from 5.02 percent in the previous week. There is no data available for a year-to-year comparisons since Freddie Mac began tracking this mortgage rate at the start of 2005.
One-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 4.23 percent, up from 4.18 the previous week, with 0.7 of a point payable up front. At this time last year, the one-year ARM rate averaged 3.61 percent.
"Not surprisingly, the one-year ARM rose on the expectation that the Fed would raise rates once again when they met last week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "We will probably see the ARM rise a little more over the next few weeks in anticipation of further rate increases by the Fed while the long-term fixed rates remain fairly flat.
"Mortgages rates remain historically low, which helps to maintain a robust housing industry," he added. "Looking forward, we continue to expect rates will not rise very much this year, and that the economy will grow at a sustainable pace, and this should translates into a continued good atmosphere for housing."
As expected, the Federal Reserve raised its Fed funds rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5 percent on Wednesday and its statement after the decision cemented expectations of gradual tightening in the future.
Freddie Mac's (up $0.51 to $66.86, Research) average mortgage rates are based on a survey of 125 lenders nationwide.
