Mortgage Rates Keep Dropping

McLEAN, Va. – Mortgage rates continued to decline this week to their lowest level since January, according to Freddie Mac. The average for the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 6.14% this week, from 6.12% last week; while the average for the 15-year, fixed-rate loan fell to 5.87%, from 5.91%. ARM rates also continued to decline, with the average for the one-year ARM slipping to 5.46%, from 5.49%; and the average for the five-year ARM going to 5.95%, from 5.99%. The lower rates have helped lenders and builders weather a fall in mortgage activity, according to Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac. “Mortgage applications for home purchases in November have remained healthy, due largely because of the drop in mortgage rates and a softening in home prices in some areas,” he said. The U.S. Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which oversees the secondary mortgage market, said that home prices rose just 0.9% in the third quarter, the lowest quarterly increase since the second quarter of 1988.