Mortgage rates hit seven-month high but annual average at historic low

By Herald staff
Thursday, December 30, 2010

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage has reached its highest level in seven months, according to Freddie Mac.

Interest rates on the most popular mortgage averaged 4.86 percent for the week ending Dec. 30, up from 4.81 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 5.14 percent.

“Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages and the 5-year hybrid (adjustable-rate mortgage) rose slightly over the holiday week, but were still below the year’s highs set in the first half of 2010,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, in a statement. “For the year as a whole, 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged just below 4.7 percent, which represented the lowest annual average since 1955, when the average price of a home was $22,000.”

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage this week averaged 4.20 percent, up from last week when it averaged 4.15 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year rate averaged 4.54 percent.

Earlier this week, the S&P/Case-Shiller house price index reported that home values fell 0.99 percent in October nationwide, in line with other reports showing a softening in house prices since mid-year.