Rates Fall Still Further

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to a yet another survey-record low of 5.34% for the week ending May 23 from 5.45% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 4.84% to 4.73%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages fell from 3.67% to 3.61%. Both represent survey-record lows. Fees and points averaged 0.7 points for all three mortgage categories. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, attributed the new lows to speculation about what Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was going to say about deflation in scheduled congressional testimony, and whether the Fed would buy long-term Treasury bonds to try to prevent deflation. A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.81% and 6.28%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.85%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.