Rates Still Shattering Records

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to yet another survey-record low of 5.61% for the week ending March 14 from 5.67% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from a survey-record low of 5.01% to 4.93%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages dropped from a survey-record low of 3.76% to 3.68%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 points for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and ARMs, and 0.5 points for 15-year FRMs. "The escalating tensions within the U.N. over the impending resolution on Iraq and dismal economic news this week sent the stock market tumbling, and with it went bond and mortgage rates," said Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist. ".... We expect interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages will stay around 5.7% in the near term -- good news for housing markets, which should be even stronger this year than in 2002 in terms of sales and construction." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 7.08% and 6.59%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 5.08%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.