Freddie Mac PMMS: Lower mortgage rates translate into large volume of refisMortgagePress.comFreddie Mac, statistics, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, ARM, fixed-rate mortgage, Frank Nothaft
Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage
Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM)
averaged 5.16 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending
Feb. 12, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 5.25 percent.
Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.72 percent.
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.81 percent with an average
0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.92 percent. A
year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.25 percent.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages
(ARMs) averaged 5.23 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point,
down from last week when it averaged 5.26 percent. A year ago, the
five-year ARM averaged 5.19 percent.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.94 percent this week
with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.92
percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.00
percent.
Average commitment rates should be reported along with average
fees and points to reflect the total cost of obtaining the
mortgage.
"Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are almost 1.5
percentage points below 2008's peak set on July 24, 2008, offering
many homeowners an incentive to refinance," said Frank Nothaft,
Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "This would
translate into a monthly payment savings of around $188 on a
$200,000 mortgage.
"The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated that the weighted
average mortgage rate of loans outstanding was about 6.2 percent in
the fourth quarter of 2008. As a result, the share of refinancing
among the total number of conventional mortgage applications has
exceeded 50 percent for the past 11 weeks and averaged 80 percent
over this period, according to the Mortgage Bankers
Association."
For more information, visit www.freddiemac.com.
