Rates on 30-year mortgages fall to the lowest point in more than 2 years

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BY MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer | Friday, December 07, 2007 | (No comments posted.)

WASHINGTON | Rates on 30-year mortgages fell sharply again this week, dropping to the lowest level in more than two years. (View an interactive on foreclosures)

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.96 percent. That was down from 6.10 percent last week and was the lowest rate since the week of Sept. 29, 2005, when they averaged 5.91 percent.

Analysts attributed the decline to worries about what a severe slump in housing and a lingering credit crunch could do to consumer confidence and the overall economy.

"With lower consumer spending and personal income gains in October, interest rates on U.S. Treasury securities fell lower this week and mortgage rates followed," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, slid to 5.65 percent, from 5.73 percent last week.

For five-year adjustable-rate mortgages, rates fell to 5.75 percent, compared to 5.86 percent last week.

Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages edged up slightly to 5.46 percent, compared to 5.43 percent last week.

The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Thirty-year mortgages carried a nationwide average fee of 0.4 point while 15-year and five-year mortgages both carried a 0.5 point fee. The one-year ARM carried an average fee of 0.6 point.

A year ago, 30-year mortgages stood at 6.11 percent. Rates on 15-year mortgages were at 5.84 a year ago while five-year ARMS averaged 5.92 percent and one-year ARMs were at 5.43 percent.

The housing market has been suffering through a severe slump following five years of record sales. The weakness is expected to persist well into next year.

The boom-to-bust situation has been especially hard on homeowners with spotty credit and lower incomes. Foreclosures have surged as many overstretched borrowers have been unable to make higher monthly payments once their low introductory "teaser" rates have reset to higher levels. The Bush administration this week put together a plan in negotiations with the mortgage industry to freeze the initial introductory rates for a period of five years for certain subprime borrowers.

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