Freddie Finds Rates Stabilizing

The average weekly 30-year conforming mortgage rate appears to be stabilizing at levels near 5.07%, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That rate, seen during the week ending Sept. 10, was down just slightly from 5.08% the week before, despite economic indicators the market interpreted as somewhat positive. Among these was news the economy lost 216,000 jobs in August, the smallest job loss seen since the previous August. These indicators may have contributed to increases in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield that generally serves as a rough indicator of long-term rates at certain points during the week. But on a net basis the secondary market mortgage bond yields that more closely correlate to rates appear to have remained relatively stable. A year ago the average 30-year primary mortgage rate was higher at 5.93%. The average 15-year mortgage rate in the most recent week, at 4.50%, also was down slightly from last week (when it was 4.54%) and represented a more marked decrease from a year ago (when it was 5.54%). The average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages was 4.51%, down from 4.59% the week previous and from 5.87% a year ago. The average one-year Treasury ARM rate was 4.64%, up from the previous week's 4.62% and from 5.21% a year ago. Average points during the week ended Sept. 10 were as follows: 0.7 for 30- and 15-year mortgages, 0.5 for five-year Treasury hybrids and 0.6 for one-year ARMs.