30-Year Rate Drops Below 6%

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.10% to 5.96% over the seven-day period ended Dec. 6, the first time the rate has been below 6% since early October 2005, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.73% to 5.65%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages declined from 5.86% to 5.75%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs rose from 5.43% to 5.46%, Freddie Mac reported. Fees and points averaged 0.4 of a point for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, 0.5 of a point for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages and hybrid ARMs, and 0.6 of a point for one-year ARMs. "House prices rose only 1.8% over the 12-months ending Sept. 30th, the slowest rate of growth since the 12-month period ending March 31, 1995, according to the Federal Housing Finance Board's national house price index," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "With lower consumer spending and personal income gains in October, interest rates on U.S. Treasury securities fell lower this week and mortgage rates followed." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.11% and 5.84%, respectively, and the average hybrid and one-year ARM rates were 5.92% and 5.43%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.