Rates Hold Steady

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was unchanged at 6.73% for the seven-day period ended July 19, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.39% to 6.38%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages was unchanged at 6.35%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs rose from 5.71% to 5.72%, Freddie Mac reported. Fees and points averaged 0.4 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.5 of a point for adjustable-rate mortgages. "In a week marked by stock indexes' reaching new highs on Wall Street, mortgage rates lingered near the previous week's level as the latest economic indicators did not affect inflation expectations significantly," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. ".... The most recent statistics suggest that the housing market has yet to reach a trough. Although June's housing starts unexpectedly rose to 1.47 million units, construction of one-unit houses still saw a decline of 0.2%. At 1.15 million units, it was the slowest pace since January. Building permits fell by 7.5% last month to the lowest level since June 1997." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.80% and 6.41%, respectively, and the average hybrid and one-year ARM rates were 6.36% and 5.80%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.