Mortgage Rates Remain Essentially Flat as Economic Uncertainty Reigns

Traditional thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages saw interest rates move slightly higher last week, with Freddie Mac reporting the average rate at 5.72 percent for the week ended Feburary 14; rates stood at an average of 5.67 percent last week, the GSE said in a press statement Thursday.

Rates still remain below year-ago levels. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average 6.30 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARMs averaged 5.19 percent this week, down from last week when the average was a reported 5.21 percent, Freddie Mac said.

“This week was relatively light on the number of economic data releases, which painted a mixed picture regarding the current state of the economy,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

“On a positive note, labor productivity rose higher than market forecasts in the fourth quarter of 2007 while gains in labor costs slowed. However, pending existing home sales fell for the second month in December, indicating further weakness in home sales for January and February. As a result, mortgage rates were roughly unchanged this week.

“With banks continuing to tighten lending standards, fewer families will likely have an opportunity to take advantage of these factors.”

For more information, visit http://www.freddiemac.com.