(Source: Tulsa World)
By JANNA HERRON
NEW YORK - The rate on the 30-year mortgage fell last week,
staying below 5 percent. But low rates have done little to lift the
struggling housing market.
Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year loan declined to
4.80 percent from 4.91 percent the previous week. The benchmark
mortgage rate hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.02
percent from 4.13 percent.
It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records
dating back to 1991.
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury
note, which fell earlier this week.
Sales of previously occupied homes rose slightly last month to a
seasonally adjusted pace of 5.1 million homes a year, the National
Association of Realtors said this week. But the March gains were
driven by a rise in foreclosure sales to investors.
Even with the increase, home sales remained below the 6-million-
homes-a-year pace considered healthy by most economists.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac collects rates
from lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each
week.
Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a single day.
The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to
3.61 percent from 3.78 percent.
The five-year adjustable-rate loan hit 3.25 percent last month,
the lowest rate on records dating back to January 2005.
The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate loan fell to 3.16
percent from 3.25 percent. That marked the lowest level for the rate
on the one-year ARM in the last year.
Originally published by JANNA HERRON Associated Press.
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