30-Year Rate Holds Steady

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was unchanged, at 5.58%, for the week ending Feb. 27, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate crept up from 4.87% to 4.89%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages fell from 3.53% to 3.50%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 of a point for all three mortgage categories. "Financial markets seem to have locked into this level of mortgage rates," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. ".... And it looks like consumers are taking advantage of the low level of mortgage rates, as applications for home purchases and refinancing are up for the last two weeks." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.79% and 5.14%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.83%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.