Fewer house sales = lower loan rates
Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for a fifth consecutive week as sales of both existing and new homes in July declined, confirming a cooling housing market. The mortgage company Freddie Mac said yesterday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.48 percent this week, down from 6.52 percent last week. That was the lowest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.43 percent the week of April 6. Mortgages had risen since then, hitting a more than four-year high of 6.8 percent the week of July 20 before falling in the past five weeks. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, averaged 6.18 percent this week, down from 6.2 percent last week.
Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages declined to 6.14 percent this week from 6.18 percent last week. Meanwhile, the Milwaukeee Journal reports, homeowners are getting one more cash advance from their homes. They’re doing it with cash-out refi’s - home mortgages big enough not just to cover debt, but to deliver some immediate cash to the borrower. Cash-out refi’s this spring hit their highest market-share percentage in 16 years - 88 percent of all mortgages refinanced through Freddie Mac, the McLean, Va.-based firm said.
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