Rates on 30-year mortgages edge up slightly

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
Associated Press
Posted December 14 2006, 1:48 PM EST

WASHINGTON -- Rates on 30-year mortgages, after falling steadily for a month, edged up slightly this week but still remained well below the levels of a year ago.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.12 percent, up from 6.11 percent last week. Last week's rate had been the lowest level this year except for the week of Jan. 19, when the 30-year mortgage dipped to 6.10 percent.

All mortgage rates except the five-year adjustable rate mortgage showed tiny gains this week, which economists attributed to conflicting signals from the economy.

``Mixed economic reports have kept mortgage rates from making any drastic changes this week,'' said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac. He said that the government reported stronger-than-expected job growth and retail sales for November but wage growth and consumer sentiment were both weaker.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday at its final meeting of the year voted as expected to keep interest rates unchanged.

Many economists believe the Fed, which last changed rates in June, will remain on hold until May or June of next year, with Fed policymakers hoping that the 17 rate hikes they have already approved will be enough to achieve a soft landing in which a slowing economy cools inflation without triggering a recession.

Nothaft predicted that long-term mortgage rates will rise in coming months but at a gradual pace. He said the 30-year mortgage will probably not reach 7 percent, with the moderate rates expected to help foster a rebound in the slumping housing market.

After five years in which sales of both new and existing homes climbed to successive highs, the housing market has cooled considerably this year. Sales have fallen and home builders have been scrambling to cut back on construction to deal with record levels of unsold homes.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, averaged 5.86 percent this week, up from 5.84 percent last week.

For one-year adjustable rate mortgages, rates edged up to 5.45 percent, compared to 5.43 percent last week.

Five-year adjustable rate mortgages were unchanged at 5.92 percent, the same as last week.

The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Thirty-year mortgages carried a nationwide average fee of 0.4 point, while the 15-year had a fee of 0.5 point, the five-year was at 0.6 point and one-year mortgages carried a fee of 0.8 point.

A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 6.30 percent. Fifteen-year mortgages stood at 5.85 percent, one-year ARMs were at 5.15 percent and five-year ARMs averaged 5.77 percent.