30-Year Mortgage Rate Holds Steady
While the 30-year fixed mortgage rate held at 6.16 percent this week, Freddie Mac reports a dip in the 15-year fixed rate to 5.86 percent from 5.9 percent a week ago.
The five-year adjustable rate fell to 5.88 percent from 5.91 percent, but the one-year ARM climbed slightly to 5.43 percent from 5.4 percent.
Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft says he does not expect the housing market to recover in the near future, citing conflicting reports about home sales. Nothaft points out that the annual pace of home resales hit a nearly one-year high of 6.69 million units in February, while the annual pace of new-home sales fell to a nearly seven-year low of 848,000 during the same month.
Source: The Wall Street Journal (03/30/07)