Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Mortgage interest rates inch up for second week

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Mortgage interest rates continued their upward trend this week, rising to 5.14 percent from 5.06 percent last week for fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) on conforming 30-year loans. However, both the highest 30-year FRM, with an average annual percentage rate (APR) of 6.96 percent, and the lowest, at 4.45 percent, remained little changed.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2009 DeadlineNews.Com

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Deadline Newsroom - Mortgage interest rates continued their upward trend this week, for the second week in a row, rising to 5.14 percent from 5.06 percent last week for fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) on conforming 30-year loans.

Calabasas, CA-based Informa Research Services' Interest Rate Review revealed both the highest 30-year FRM, with an annual percentage rate (APR) of 6.96 percent, and the lowest, at 4.45 percent, likewise, remained little changed the week ending Dec. 15, compared to the previous week.

Informa, a market research, analyses, and intelligence gathering service for the financial industry since 1983, revealed the gap between the average 5.14 FRM now and a year ago, 5.47 percent, has narrowed.

The average 15-year FRM came in Dec. 15 at 4.56 percent, up a couple of notches from 4.53 a week ago, but down from 5.24 percent a year ago.

The average interest rate for the 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), was 3.55 percent, virtually unchanged from last week, but down almost a full percentage point a year ago when it was 4.55 percent.

The FRM rates for 15- and 30-year mortgages and the 5/1 ARM rates are all based on a $200,000 purchase loan, with an 80 percent loan-to-value ratio, for an owner-occupied, single-family residence.

Informa's National APR (annual percentage rates) numbers are tallied from the interest rates of some 200 mortgage originators.

Informa also reported the average rate for 30-year, non-conforming jumbo loans, 6.16 percent rose slightly from 6.13 percent a week ago. The jumbo rate remained well off the average 7.20 percent rate this time last year.

The jumbo averages are based on a $450,000 purchase loan with an 80 percent loan-to-value ratio for an owner-occupied, single-family residence.

For home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) of $50,000, with an 80 percent loan-to-value note, the variable rate came in at an average 4.99 percent, unchanged for the past two weeks but up noticeably from 4.70 percent a year ago.

The average FRM rates on 15-year home equity loans of $50,000, with an 80 percent loan-to-value note came in at 7.45 percent, down from 7.60 percent a week ago and down from 8 percent a year ago, according to Informa's survey.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

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