Mortgage rates fall for a second week

Freddie Mac says 30-year fixed rate fell to 6.26% amid market speculation that the Fed may not raise interest rates by the end of the year.

By Catherine Clifford, CNNMoney.com staff writer
July 17, 2008: 11:55 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell for the second week in a row on increased speculation that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates before the end of the year, according to mortgage backer Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) said that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.26% with an average 0.6 of a point in the week ending Thursday, down from 6.37% last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year loan averaged 6.73%.

"Mortgage rates fell this week amid market speculation that the Federal Reserve may not raise the overnight bank-lending rate this year after all," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a written statement.

Nothaft cited Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke's grim economic outlook in his July 15th semi-annual testimony before Congress as one of the factors changing market perception of the Fed's movement of interest rates going forward.

"The economy continues to face numerous difficulties, including ongoing strains in financial markets, declining house prices, a softening labor market, and rising prices of oil, food, and some other commodities," Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee early Tuesday.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage this week averaged 5.78% with an average 0.6 of a point, down from last week when it averaged 5.91%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.38%.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.80% this week, with an average 0.6 of a point, down from last week when it averaged 5.82%. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.35%.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.10% this week with an average 0.6 of a point, down from last week when it averaged 5.17%. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.72%.

A point, or "discount point," can be purchased at the time of closing to decrease the mortgage rate. Each point costs 1% of the loan amount and each point that a borrower purchases lowers the the loan interest rate.

In addition, "some of the factors motivating the change in market perceptions this week included retail sales for June rising at the slowest pace since February and consumer sentiment in July holding at low levels not seen since 1980," said Nothaft.