Mortgage Rates Again Hit All-time Lows

Mathew Graham of MortgageNewsDaily.com reported that mortgage rates appeared to fall to new lows yesterday according to data gathered from twenty prominent lenders and feedback gathered from MBS Live community. According to the story, the average best-execution rate hit its lowest level on record at 3.81%. This is good news for homeowners and home buyers who watched interest rates inch higher last week. Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage market survey, released last Thursday, showed the 30 year mortgage rate trending higher at 3.98% (.7 pts) and the 15 year average increasing from 3.17% to 3.24% (.8 pts). Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist, attributed the rise in rates to positive news in the housing market from the end of 2011 as existing homes sales were up 5% and new construction also was showing positive signs of life.

Kelly Decker, a McKinney TX mortgage banker, told ForTheBestRate.com that refinance activity continues to be strong and actually has picked up since slowing around December's holiday season. "Rates have been low for so long that it's hard to believe that there is still such great demand for refinancing. We are being contacted by people who just refinanced 18 to 24 months ago," he noted.

Mortgage applications last week fell about 5% from the previous week according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Web site traffic on ForTheBestRate.com spiked yesterday as word spread about the interest rate environment. Hopefully, these rates will stick around for a few days until the public becomes better aware of what's happening.

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Recent Mortgage Rate Update - Jan. 2012
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