(February 6, 2013) The average interest rates for conventional 30-year fixed rate single-family, fully amortized, purchase-money mortgages fell from 3.54 percent in November to 3.47 percent in December according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) Monthly Interest Rate Survey.
The results of the survey reflect loans closed during the December 24-31 period from 25 lenders and data from 5,404 mortgage loans. Since mortgage loans typically take 30-45 to close, the reported rates reflect market conditions in mid to late November.
The average interest rate of all mortgage loans, fixed and adjustable-rate, was 3.28 percent in December, down from 3.36 percent in November.
The effective mortgage interest rate, including initial fees and charges, fell to 3.42 percent from 3.49 percent in November.
Fifteen percent of all purchase-money mortgage loans were no-point loans, down from 16 percent in November, while initial fees and charges averaged 1.15 percent of the loan balance in December, up from 1.08 percent in November.
The average loan amount was $274,100 in December, up from $272,300 in November, with the average loan-to-price ratio increasing slightly from 75.8 percent in November to 76.3 percent in December.
The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Home by Combined Lenders, used to index some ARM contracts, declined to 3.29 percent from 3.36 percent in November.
Tags: FHFA, mortgage interest rates, purchase money mortgages, initial fees and charges, points, mortgage loan, ARM, no-points mortgage
Source:
FHFA
Reported by Jeff Alan
