30-Year Fixed Rate Slides Slightly

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slid to 5.16% during the week ending Feb. 12 from 5.25% the previous week and 5.72% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac. "Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are almost 1.5 percentage points below 2008's peak set on July 24, 2008, offering many homeowners an incentive to refinance. This would translate into a monthly payment savings of around $188 on a $200,000 mortgage," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. He also noted that the Bureau of Economic Analysis has estimated that the weighted average mortgage rate of loans outstanding was about 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008. "As a result, the share of refinancing among the total number of conventional mortgage applications has exceeded 50% for the past 11 weeks and averaged 80 percent over this period, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association," he said. The average 15-year FRM rate in the latest week averaged 4.81%, down from the previous week when it averaged 4.92%. A year ago, the 15-year FRM rate averaged 5.25%. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.23%, down from the previous week when they averaged 5.26%. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 5.19%. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.94%, up from the previous week's 4.92%. A year ago, the one-year ARM averaged 5.00%. Average points were as follows: 0.7 for 30- and 15-year FRMs, 0.6 for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrids and 0.5 for one-year ARMs.