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Mortgage rates steady
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November 22, 2000: 4:12 p.m. ET
Long-term rates unchanged and below 8% for 15th straight week
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Mortgage rates stayed flat in the absence of new economic reports. But rates were slightly ahead of last year's average, according to a survey released Wednesday by Freddie Mac.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 7.73 percent for the week ending Nov. 24, unchanged from last week's average. A year ago, the same mortgage averaged 7.75 percent.
The average this week for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged from the previous week's average at 7.41 percent. A year ago, the same rate stood at 7.36 percent.
One-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) this week averaged 7.28 percent, up from last week's average of 7.25 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.]
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Financial markets are in a holding pattern as the winter holiday season begins, leaving rates below 8 percent for the 15th consecutive week. With no new major indicators released to influence them, long-term mortgage rates remain steady and affordable.
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Robert Van Order
Freddie Mac |
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"Financial markets are in a holding pattern as the winter holiday season begins, leaving rates below 8 percent for the 15th consecutive week," said Robert Van Order, chief economist for Freddie Mac. "With no new major indicators released to influence them, long-term mortgage rates remain steady and affordable."
"However, next week the third-quarter Gross Domestic Product will be released, as well as the jobless report and Freddie Mac's new loan limits. So next week there will be some factors that could impact the markets, and that could easily spill over into the housing sector of the economy to have an impact on mortgage rates," he added.
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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Freddie Mac
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