Fixed Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.67% for the week ending Jan. 21 from 5.74% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.19% to 5.15%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages was unchanged at 5.05%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs inched up from 4.10% to 4.11%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.6 of a point for ARMs. "Financial markets see inflation as being well managed by the Fed, and that allows long-term interest rates to remain low, with mortgage rates even falling a little more this week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "With housing starts in December near record levels, and November starts revised upward, the housing industry looks like it will remain vibrant in 2005." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.64% and 4.95%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.56%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.