The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has reported that the average interest rate on conventional 30-year, fixed-rate, mortgage loans of $417,000 or less decreased four basis points to 5.05 percent in December. The average interest rate on 15-year, fixed-rate loans of $417,000 or less decreased nine basis points to 4.54 percent in December. These rates are calculated from the FHFA’s Monthly Interest Rate Survey (MIRS) of purchase-money mortgages. These results reflect loans closed during the Dec. 24-31 period.

Typically, the interest rate is determined 30 to 45 days before the loan is closed. Thus, the reported rates depict market conditions prevailing in mid- to late-November.

The contract rate on the composite of all mortgage loans (fixed- and adjustable-rate) was 4.92 percent in December, down 8 basis points from 5.00 percent in November. The effective interest rate, which reflects the amortization of initial fees and charges, was 5.01 percent in December, down 8 basis points from 5.09 percent in November.

This report contains no data on adjustable-rate mortgages due to insufficient sample size. Initial fees and charges were 0.62 percent of the loan balance in December, up 0.01 percent from 0.61 in November. Forty-five percent of the purchase-money mortgage loans originated in December were "no-point" mortgages, up from 44 percent in November.

The average term was 27.4 years in December, down 0.6 years from 28.0 years in November. The average loan-to-price ratio in December was 73.9 percent, unchanged from November. The average loan amount was $217,800 in December, up $6,600 from $211,200 in November.

The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders, used as an index in some ARM contracts, was 4.92 percent based on loans closed in December. This is a decrease of 0.09 percent from the previous month. This Contract Rate series can be found by clicking here.

For more information, visit www.fhfa.gov.