Weakening Economy Pushes Mortgage Interest Rates Lower

June 2, 2011 (Shirley Allen)

Mortgage interest rates continued their downward trend for the seventh consecutive week, hitting new lows for the year and reflecting continuing concerns of a weakening economy and housing market according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS) for the week ending June 2, 2011.

Fixed Rate Mortgages (FRM):

Both the 30 year and the 15 year FRMs continued to decline with the 30 year FRM reaching an average of 4.55 percent with an average 0.6 points, down from an average 4.60 percent last week and down from 4.79 percent a year earlier.

The 15 year FRM averaged 3.74 this week with an average 0.7 points, down from an average of 3.78 last week and down from 4.20 percent a year ago

Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM):

ARMs were mixed this week as the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM maintained the same interest rate of 3.41 percent as the previous week, with an average of 0.6 points. The 5-year ARM averaged 3.94 percent a year earlier.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM increased this week to 3.13 percent from 3.11 percent the previous week with an average of 0.6 points. A year ago, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.95 percent.

Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac, stated, "Fixed mortgage rates followed U.S. Treasury yields lower this week amid financial market concerns that the current lull in the economy is continuing. First quarter growth in consumer spending was revised downward by half of a percentage point to 2.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Activity, consumer confidence in May was weaker than the market consensus forecast, and the manufacturing industry slowed for the third straight month in May."

"The housing market is showing strain as well. The S&P/Case-Shiller® National Home Price Index fell 5.1 percent between the first quarters of 2010 and 2011, representing the largest annual decline since the third quarter of 2009. In addition, the index of pending existing home sales dropped 11.6 percent from March to April, led by the Midwest and South regions where the tornados and flooding occurred," he added.

30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgages	US	NE	SE	NC	SW	W
Average	4.55	4.58	4.57	4.56	4.55	4.50
Fees & Points	0.6	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.6

15-Year Fixed Rate Mortgages	US	NE	SE	NC	SW	W
Average	3.74	3.77	3.75	3.75	3.81	3.68
Fees & Points	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.7

5/1-Year Adjustable Rate Mortgages	US	NE	SE	NC	SW	W
Average	3.41	3.50	3.39	3.41	3.36	3.35
Fees & Points	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.4	0.6	0.7
Margin	2.74	2.75	2.75	2.72	2.76	2.73

1-Year Adjustable Rate Mortgages	US	NE	SE	NC	SW	W
Average	3.13	3.40	2.88	3.50	3.00	2.86
Fees & Points	0.6	0.7	0.5	0.4	0.8	0.5
Margin	2.76	2.80	2.75	2.73	2.77	2.75

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	4.79	4.20	3.94	3.95	4.60	3.78	3.41	3.11
Fees & Points	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.5	0.5
Margin	N/A	N/A	2.74	2.75	N/A	N/A	2.74	2.76

Tags: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, fixed rate mortgage, freddie mac, interest rates, mortgage rates

Source:
Freddie Mac