Long-Term Mortgage RatesDecline

McLEAN, Va. - (12/23/05) -- Long-term mortgage rates dipped thisweek, going into the slow holiday vacation, according to FreddieMac. The average for the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan fell to6.26% this week, from 6.30% last week; while the average for the15-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 5.79%, from 5.85%. But ARMrates inched upwards, as the average for the one-year ARM rising to5.22% this week, from 5.15% last week; and the average for thefive-year ARM climbing to 5.82%, from 5.77%. "Long-term mortgagerates dipped this week because of recently released inflationindicators for November, while short-term rates rose, responding tothe Fed's recent - and expected future - actions," said FrankNothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac. "Although mortgage ratesby and large are higher than they were at the start of this year,they've only risen about one percentage point since hitting afour-decade record low in June of 2003."