Mortgage Lenders Nationwide

2009 has clearly been a good year for mortgage rates and homeowner, mortgage lenders and brokers have all benefitted from the Federal Reserve’s commitment to lower interest rates.  Which direction will the mortgage rates go from here is anyone’s guess.

Home mortgage rates remain low as the Federal Reserve continues to make moves to keep them that way. Freddie Mac’s weekly rate report says thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to an average 4.82%, down from 4.86 % last week. A year ago, thirty-year mortgages were averaging about 6%. 

Long-term fixed rate mortgage loans are now on par with many adjustable rate mortgages. A one year ARM also averaged 4.82% this week. “Long-term fixed-rate mortgage rates have remained below 5% for the past ten weeks as the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve act to keep interest rates low through security purchases,” says Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft. “The treasury purchased $136 billion in mortgage-backed securities through April and the Fed bought $740 billion through mid-May.”

The Federal Reserve has also purchased $115 billion in Treasury bonds since March. Homebuilder confidence rose this month, according to the National Home Builders Association, despite a drop in housing starts. The decline in construction was led primarily by a continued drop in condo and apartment construction.

The Mortgage Bankers Association also reported this week a continued rise in home loan applications, led by refinancing activity.   Mortgage refinancing now accounts for 74 % of all mortgage applications.