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Most mortgages take small dip after four up weeks
By Steve Kerch February 23, 2006 Mortgage rates inched lower in the week ending Thursday, Freddie Mac said, the first decline in rates in five weeks. The drop put the benchmark 30-year mortgage at a national average 6.26%, down from 6.28% a week earlier. Last year at this time the loan averaged 5.69%. The average on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, fell to 5.89% from 5.91% last week. A year ago, the 15-year averaged 5.22%. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.96%, up slightly from last week when it averaged 5.95%. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 5.05%. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.32%, down from last week when it averaged 5.36%. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 4.16%. The 1-year ARM required the payment of an average 0.7 point to achieve the interest rate; the other three loan types need an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the loan amount, charged as prepaid interest. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac, said tame core-inflation figures and market confidence that the Fed will continue to keep inflation low kept mortgage rates in check this week. "Over the long term, we expect mortgage rates will bounce back and forth a bit, remaining near current levels," he said.
What are people saying about mortgages today: Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March. Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week. Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.
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