Fixed Mortgage Rates Retreat for First Time in Five Weeks

Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages fell back this week according to industry data released Thursday. It marks the first time in five weeks that declines have been reported and follows a sharp spike last week of more than 20 basis points, which put the 30-year fixed rate at a 10-month high.

A ""national survey"":http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/release.html?week=7&year=2011 conducted by ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com shows that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.00 percent[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]

(0.7 point) for the week ending February 17. That's down from an average of 5.05 percent last week.

The average 15-year fixed rate came in at 4.27 percent (0.7 point) this week in the GSE's survey. Last week, it was 4.29 percent.

According to Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, fixed mortgage rates are still ""very affordable,"" even with the steady increases seen in previous weeks. He explained that prior to 2009, interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages had never been at 5 percent since the GSE began tracking rates in April 1971.

To put today's numbers into perspective, Nothaft pointed out that in both 1981 and 1982, fixed mortgage rates were over three times as high as they are now. Still, he says, ""The housing market is struggling to regain traction.""

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) were mixed in Freddie's study. The 5-year ARM dropped from 3.92 percent to 3.87 percent (0.6 point), while the 1-year ARM increased from 3.35 percent to 3.39 percent (0.6 point).