Mortgage rates hit record lows: Freddie Mac

Apply Today! http://bit.ly/cVz6jm


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows amid concerns about the state of the U.S. economy, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac (OTC BB:FMCC.OB - News), the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

Rock-bottom rates should continue to spur demand for home loan refinancing, putting extra cash into consumers' hands that they can save, use to pay off existing debt or funnel into the economy through extra spending.

Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.42 percent for the week ended August 19, down from the previous week's 4.44 percent and its year-ago level of 5.12 percent, according to the survey.

Thirty-year mortgage rates have fallen to fresh lows for nine straight weeks. Freddie Mac started the survey in April 1971.

Full Yahoo!Finance article: http://yhoo.it/bQyuqM

30 year mortgage rates hit 4.44% as economy sours!

Apply Right Now! http://bit.ly/cVz6jm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Growing pessimism over the weak economic recovery pushed mortgage rates to the lowest level in decades for the seventh time in eight weeks.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit 4.44 percent this week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. And some brokers say homeowners looking to refinance have even managed to do so for as low as 4 percent.

Investors are shifting their money away from stocks and into safer Treasury bonds. That is sending Treasury yields lower. Mortgage rates track those yields.

And the Federal Reserve is pushing those yields down even further. The central bank said Tuesday it would buy Treasurys to help aid the recovery, using the proceeds from debt and mortgage-backed securities it bought from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"The silver lining to a bad economy is that interest rates fall," Walters said. "If you can lower your debt burden by refinancing, that's great."

Full Yahoo!Finance article: http://yhoo.it/c31pZ5

Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows for Seventh Consecutive Week

Apply Now Before Rates Increase! http://bit.ly/cVz6jm

Mortgage rates set a new record lows in two weekly surveys for the seventh consecutive week.

The Freddie Mac survey put the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) at 4.49% with an average 0.7 origination point for the week ending Aug. 5, down from last week's average of 4.54% and a year ago, when the average was 5.22%. It's a new record low for the survey, which began in 1971.

The Bankrate survey of large banks and thrifts put the average rate for a 30-year FRM at 4.66% with a 0.42 origination point, down from last week's average of 4.71% and a new record low for the nearly 25-year-old survey.

Vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac, Frank Nothaft, suggested GDP growth was the cause of record low mortgage rates.

“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," he said. "This reduces inflationary pressures and allows longer-term rates room to ease."

Full HousingWire article: http://bit.ly/c9t9tK

Mortgage rates dip below 4.00% on 15-year loans

Never a better time to buy or refi! Apply now: http://bit.ly/cVz6jm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A plunge in mortgage rates is giving homeowners a rare opportunity to lock in a 15-year fixed-rate loan for less than 4 percent.

Rates haven't dipped this low in decades. For those who can qualify, it's the chance to pay off a home in half the time while saving tens of thousands of dollars -- if not more.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed loan dropped to 3.95 percent last week, according to mortgage company Freddie Mac. That's the lowest on records the company has kept since 1991. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell to 4.49 percent. Rates haven't been that low since the 1950s, when longer-term mortgages typically lasted 20 to 25 years.

On the surface, there might not seem to be a huge difference in the two rates, both of which are historically low. But consider the savings on a $200,000 mortgage over 15 years at the current rates.

A borrower who refinances over that term could expect to save $65,000 in interest compared with the 30-year fixed loan. Still, they would pay $1,474 a month before taxes and insurance. With the 30-year loan, the payments would be $1,010 a month.

Full Yahoo!Finance article: http://yhoo.it/cxwD7u

Rate on 30-Year-Mortgage Drops to Record Low Week-to-Week!

Apply Now For Rock Bottom Rates! http://bit.ly/cVz6jm

The 30-year fixed-mortgage rate (FRM) dropped week-to-week nationally averaging 4.28%, according to Zillow Mortgage Marketplace's weekly update. This is down 0.1% and a new record low according to their data. Last week's averages remained steady.

Regionally 30-year rates are varying, but the majority of states saw a drop. California's current rate is 4.33%, down from 4.34% last week, as is Colorado's at 4.26%, down from 4.28%. Rates substantially decreased in New York to 4.23% (from 4.46%), Massachusetts to 4.28% (from 4.61%), Florida to 4.18% (from 4.33%) and Washington to 4.36% (from 4.56%) from last week.. Texas is down to 4.27% from 4.36% and Illinois state average is down to 4.33% from 4.31%.

Zillow reported the rate for 15-year fixed home loans at a national average 3.85%, while the rate for a 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) is at 3.27%.

Full HousingWire article: http://bit.ly/cU9BaN