Fixed Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 5.57% with an average 0.8 points for the week ending February 10, 2005, down from 5.63% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage was 5.10% down from 5.14% the previous week. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.96%. The average five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.99%, down very slightly from 5.00 the previous week. One-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages) averaged 4.11%, with an average 0.8 point, down from the previous week when it averaged 4.23% "January’s employment figures came out lower than expected, allowing bond yields to fall even further. This, in turn, caused mortgage rates to perform somewhat differently than we had expected," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "In particular, the 1-year ARM fell for the first time in five weeks." At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 3.57%