30-Year Rate Holds Steady

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was unchanged at 5.71% over the seven-day period ended Sept. 8, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate decreased from 5.32% to 5.30%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages fell from 5.30% to 5.24%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs declined from 4.48% to 4.45%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and hybrid ARMs and 0.7 of a point for one-year ARMs. "We expect that near-term growth will now be a bit weaker than had been anticipated, due in very large part to the disruption in economic activity brought on by Katrina last week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "However, the federal monies that will flow into the damaged areas and the lower interest rates brought on by the disaster will stimulate economic growth next year, making up for the slowdown in the last part of this year." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.83% and 5.22%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.00%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.