Aug
5
2010
Mortgage Rates Down Again as GDP is Revised Lower
Author: Randall GoltzmanMcLean, VA – Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), with the 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages reaching record lows for this survey. (The 30-year fixed-rate survey began in 1971, and the 15-year began in 1991.) The 5-year adjustable rate mortgage also reached its lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking it in 2005.
News Facts
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.49 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending August 5, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.54 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.22 percent.
15-year FRM this week averaged a record low of 3.95 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.00 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.63 percent.
5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.63 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.76 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.73 percent.
1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.55 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.64 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.78 percent .
Quotes
Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.
“And yet again, interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages and now the hybrid 5-year ARM fell to all-time record lows this week following the second quarter GDP release.. Annual revisions cut the cumulative GDP growth in half over the past three years ending in the first quarter of 2010 from 1.4 percent to 0.6 percent. This reduces inflationary pressures and allows longer-term rates room to ease.
“More recently, housing investment picked up in the second quarter of this year as the homebuyer tax credit spurred new and existing sales and low mortgage rates encouraged remodeling. Fixed residential investment added 0.6 percentage points to second quarter real GDP growth following two quarters of decline.”
Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.
Summary of Survey Results
Fixed-Rate Mortgages
Average Conventional
30-Year Commitment Rate Fees & Points Average Conventional
15-Year Commitment Rate Fees & Points
US 4.49 0.7 3.95 0.6
Northeast 4.51 0.6 4.00 0.6
Southeast 4.52 0.7 3.95 0.6
N. Central 4.49 0.5 3.97 0.5
Southwest 4.51 0.6 3.96 0.5
West 4.45 0.8 3.90 0.8
Five/One-Year Adjustable-Rate Mortgages
First Commitment Rate Fees & Points Margin
US 3.63 0.6 2.74
Northeast 3.81 0.5 2.75
Southeast 3.50 0.6 2.75
N. Central 3.56 0.5 2.70
Southwest 3.69 0.7 2.79
West 3.55 0.8 2.73
One-Year Adjustable-Rate Mortgages
First Commitment Rate Fees & Points Margin
US 3.55 0.7 2.77
Northeast 3.61 0.6 2.80
Southeast 3.52 0.8 2.75
N. Central 3.56 0.4 2.72
Southwest 3.66 0.8 2.80
West 3.45 0.8 2.77
Freddie Mac defines its regions as follows:
Northeast: NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT
Southeast: NC, SC, TN, KY, GA, AL, FL, MS, PR, VI
North Central: OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN, IA, ND, SD
Southwest: TX, LA, NM, OK, AR, MO, KS, CO, NE, WY
West: CA, AZ, NV, OR, WA, UT, ID, MT, HI, AK, GU
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) is for informational purposes only and Freddie Mac is not responsible for business decisions made based on the reported results of the PMMS. In general, the data presented were calculated from information collected Monday through Wednesday of the same week that the PMMS is released and may not reflect mortgage rates, fees or points currently available from any lender. Freddie Mac may change the methodology used to conduct the PMMS at any time and without notice.
Definitions
Commitment Rate is the interest rate a lender would charge to lend mortgage money to a qualified borrower exclusive of the fees and points required by the lender. This commitment rate applies only to conventional financing on conforming mortgages with loan-to-value rates of 80 percent or less.
ARM Index – is the One-year Treasury
Loan to Value Ratio (LTV) is the ratio of the loan amount of a mortgage loan to the lower of the appraisal value or purchase price of the property securing the loan.
Origination Fees and Discount Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount.
Margin is a fixed amount added to the underlying index to establish the fully indexed rate for an ARM.
Weighted Averages for the Primary Mortgage Market Survey have been adjusted as of December 17, 2009. The new weights use the dollar volume of conventional first-lien mortgage originations within the 1-unit Freddie Mac loan limit as reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) for 2008. The weights are listed in the table below.
Freddie Mac Region PMMS Weights
Northeast 26.0
Southeast 16.7
North Central 15.9
Southwest 13.2
West 28.2
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Primary Mortgage Market Survey Results
August 5, 2010
30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgages
US NE SE NC SW W
Average 4.49 4.51 4.52 4.49 4.51 4.45
Fees & Points 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.8
15-Year Fixed Rate Mortgages
US NE SE NC SW W
Average 3.95 4.00 3.95 3.97 3.96 3.90
Fees & Points 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.8
5/1-Year Adjustable Rate Mortgages
US NE SE NC SW W
Average 3.63 3.81 3.50 3.56 3.69 3.55
Fees & Points 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.8
Margin 2.74 2.75 2.75 2.70 2.79 2.73
1-Year Adjustable Rate Mortgages
US NE SE NC SW W
Average 3.55 3.61 3.52 3.56 3.66 3.45
Fees & Points 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.4 0.8 0.8
Margin 2.77 2.80 2.75 2.72 2.80 2.77
The National Mortgage Rate Snapshot
One Year Ago One Week Ago
30-YR 15-YR 5/1-YR 1-YR ARM 30-YR 15-YR 5/1-YR 1-YR ARM
Average 5.22 4.63 4.73 4.78 4.54 4.00 3.76 3.64
Fees & Points 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
Margin N/A N/A 2.74 2.75 N/A N/A 2.75 2.77