February 29, 2012 (Jeff Alan)

The average interest rates for conventional 30-year fixed rate mortgages increased from 4.32 percent in December to 4.33 percent in January according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) Monthly Interest Rate Survey.

The results of the survey reflect loans closed during the January 25-31 period from 28 lenders and data from 2,646 mortgage loans. Since mortgage loans typically take 30-45 to close, the reported rates reflect market conditions in mid to late December.

The average interest rate of all mortgage loans, fixed and adjustable-rate, was 4.19 percent in January, up from 4.13 percent in December.

The effective mortgage interest rate, including initial fees and charges, increased to 4.31 percent from 4.24 percent in December.

Thirty-eight percent of all purchase-money mortgage loans were no-point loans, up from 32 percent in December, while initial fees and charges averaged 0.82 percent of the loan balance in January, down slightly from 0.83 percent in December.

The average loan amount increased to $223,000 in January from $221,700 in December, with the average loan-to-price ratio declined from 78.7 percent in December to 75.5 percent in January.

The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Home by Combined Lenders, used to index some ARM contracts, increased from 4.15 percent in December to 4.25 percent in January.

Tags: FHFA, mortgage interest rates, purchase money mortgages, initial fees and charges, points, mortgage loan, ARM, no-points mortgage

Source:
FHFA