Fixed Rates Drop About 20bps

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.83% for the week ending Nov. 21 from 6.03% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.39% to 5.17%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages dipped from 3.76% to 3.72%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 points for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and 0.7 points for ARMs and 15-year FRMs. "Over the past week, several high-ranking Federal Reserve officials gave speeches indicating that inflation remains a non-event," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "One official even suggested [that] the possibility that inflation might go even lower is more of an issue for the Fed at the moment. Consequently, the bond market rallied, and this caused mortgages rates to fall." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.03% and 5.44%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.14%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.