Rates Keep Falling

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to another survey-record low of 5.21% for the week ending June 13 from 5.26% the previous week, the ninth week in a row the rate has fallen and the fifth in a row it has set a record, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 4.66% to 4.60%, also a survey-record low, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages fell from 3.59% to 3.54%, another record low. Fees and points averaged 0.5 points for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.6 points for ARMs. "Treasury rates continued to drop this week to 45-year lows in anticipation that the Fed may cut rates, given the continuous weakness in the economy and the absence of any inflationary pressures," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Mortgage rates, following bond yields, also continued to fall to yet another record low. Because of the drop in rates since last month, we have raised our forecast for origination volume for 2003 to almost $3.3 trillion in expectation of higher home sales and greater refinancing levels." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.71% and 6.17%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.67%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.