Reports show no imminent growth in home construction, inflation

By Inman News, Thursday, January 20, 2011

Mortgage rates were little changed during the week ending Jan. 20, amid reports that housing construction remains weak and inflation tame, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.74 percent with an average 0.8 point, up from 4.71 percent last week but down from 4.99 percent a year ago. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a low in records dating to 1971 of 4.17 percent during the week ending Nov. 11.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged 4.05 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from 4.08 percent last week and 4.4 percent a year ago. The 15-year fixed-rate loan hit a low in records dating back to 1991 of 3.57 percent in November.

For 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans, rates averaged 3.69 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from 3.72 percent last week and 4.27 percent a year ago. The 5-year ARM hit a low in records dating to 2005 of 3.25 percent in November.

Rates on one-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.25 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from 3.23 percent last week but down from 4.32 percent a year ago.

In a Jan. 14 forecast, the Mortgage Bankers Association projected rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans will climb to an average of 5.5 percent during the final months of 2011, and to an average of 6.1 percent during the fourth quarter of 2012.