Mortgage Rates Top 6 Percent

For the first time since spring, Freddie Mac's Weekly Mortgage Market Survey showed the 30 year fixed rate mortgage averaging over 6 percent. The rate has been bouncing between the year's low of 5.53 percent (the week of June 30) and the high of 6.04 the last week of March. For the most current week ended October 13 the average 30-year rate was 6.03 percent, up five basis points from the previous week. Fees and points also went up from 0.5 to 0.6 for the week.

The 15 year fixed rate averaged 5.62 percent compared with 5.54 the previous week and fees and points also went up 0.1 to 0.6. The rate was the high for the year thus far.

The 1/5 ARM was reported at 5.57, an increase of nine basis points since the previous survey and fees and points were also up from 0.6 to 0.7. This was the highest rate this year for the hybrid product which was not tracked by Freddie Mac before January 1 this year.

The 1-year ARM averaged 4.85 percent, an increase of 8 basis points for the week. Fees and points were unchanged at 0.6. This is again, a high for the year.

The Mortgage Bankers Survey for the week ended October 14 mainly reported even higher rates. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 6.09 percent, an increase of 11 basis points from the previous week. Points, including the origination fee, increased to 1.29 from 1.22 the previous week.

The rate for 15 year fixed-rate mortgages was unchanged at 5.62 percent, identical to the Freddie Mac figure, but points increased from 1.19 to 1.29.

The one-year ARM increased 8 basis points from 5.26 to 5.34 percent and points also increased from 0.96 to 1.00. If anyone can explain the large differential between Freddie Mac and MBA figures for this loan we would love to hear it.

All MBA averages are for 80 percent loan to value mortgages.

Application volume was up 6.1 percent from the week before, adjusted to offset the effects of the Columbus Day holiday on application activity. The unadjusted figure, however, was down 4.4 percent from the previous week. Looked at against the same week in 2004, activity was up 3.7 percent.

Refinancing was down again, declining from 43.5 percent of all mortgage activity during the week of October 7 to 42.8 percent the most recent week; adjustable rates mortgages again lost a tiny bit more of the overall share of loans, dropping from 29.5 percent to 29.3 percent.