Fixed Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.63% for the week ending Feb. 4 from 5.66% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate was unchanged, at 5.14%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages declined from 5.02% to 5.00%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs rose from 4.18% to 4.23%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and one-year ARMs and 0.6 of a point for five-year hybrid ARMs. "Not surprisingly, the one-year ARM rose on the expectation that the Fed would raise rates once again ...," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "We will probably see the ARM rise a little more over the next few weeks in anticipation of further rate increases by the Fed while the long-term fixed rates remain fairly flat." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.72% and 5.03%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.61%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.