Mortgage Rates Slide Slightly Higher This Week, Says Freddie Mac

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(MCLEAN, VA) -- According to Freddie Mac's (NYSE:FRE) newly released Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.14 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending December 31, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 5.05 percent.  Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.10 percent.
 
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.54 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.45 percent.  A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.83 percent.
 

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.44 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.40 percent.  A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.57 percent.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.33 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.38 percent.  At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.85 percent. 

"Although long-term mortgage rates rose for the fourth week in a row, they still remain affordable by historical standards," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.  "Based on today's median loan amount of $138,000, monthly principal and interest payments for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are close to one-third less than a decade ago when rates peaked at 8.6 percent in May 2000. This translates into almost 50 percent less in interest payments over the full 30-year term.

"Nationally, the housing market is slowly improving.  House prices rose for the fifth consecutive month in October to the highest level since the beginning of 2009, according to the S & P / Cas-Shiller 20-City compositie index. Eleven of the cities experienced positive growth."

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.





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

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