Mortgage Rates Remain Relatively Flat

Mortgage rates shifted only slightly this week amid mixed reports on the state of the housing market, according to the ""Primary Mortgage Market Survey"":http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/release.html (PMMS) issued by ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com on Thursday.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's VP and chief economist, pointed to numbers released by the National Association of Realtors earlier this week, which showed that sales of existing homes have risen for two consecutive months. Still Nothaft said, the May increase was slightly less than the market consensus forecast, and the median sales price is now 16.8 percent below last year. In contrast, he said, new home sales fell 0.6 percent and the median sales price was only 3.4 percent lower than a year ago.
However, Nothaft added, ""On a more positive note, the inventory of unsold homes has lessened from a year ago, which may help cushion further house price declines. The number of existing homes for sale was 15.3 percent below that of May 2008, and new homes for sale fell by 35.9 percent.""
For the week ending June 25, 2009, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.42 percent (0.7 point), up slightly from last week when it was 5.38 percent. Last year at this time, the average rate for a 30-year FRM was 6.45 percent.
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.87 percent (0.7 point). That figure slipped slightly from last week's average of 4.89 percent. A year ago at this time, the rate for a 15-year home loan was 6.04 percent.
According to Freddie Mac's study, 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 4.99 percent this week (0.7 point). Last week the 5-year ARM came in at 4.97 percent, and last year it was 5.99 percent.
The interest rate for 1-year ARMs averaged 4.93 percent this week (0.7 point). The week before, the 1-year ARM was 4.95 percent, and at this time last year it was 5.27 percent.