Florida Mortgage Rates Fall Again; Buyers See Best Opportunities of 2006

Florida mortgage costs fell last week, with rates on conventional 30-year mortgages sinking once again to their lowest level in 10 months.

Freddie Mac reports that 30-year, fixed-rate Florida mortgage loans - the industry’s most common home loan and considered to be the benchmark - averaged just 6.18 percent for the week ending November 22. That’s down from 6.24 percent last week and was the lowest rate since the week ending January 26, when 30-year Florida home loan rates ended the week at 6.12 percent.

This marked the second week in a row that mortgage rates dropped, a trend economists attribute to easing inflation pressures. Inflation is calming down amid stabilizing energy prices, slower overall economic activity and the widely-discussed housing market slump.

After five years of record-setting activity, the housing market has lost a fair amount of its pop this year. Sales have fallen, home builders have cut back on construction and home prices have dropped considerably, with the South Florida housing market falling the hardest.

All categories of mortgage rates surveyed by Freddie Mac showed drops this week, offering some welcome news to those looking to purchase their first home.

• Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate loans, an extremely popular choice for Florida mortgage refinancing, averaged just 5.91 percent - a bit lower than the average rate of 5.94 percent seen last week.
• For one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), Florida home loan rates fell to 5.49 percent, compared with 5.53 percent last week.
• Five-year adjustable-rate loans dropped to 5.99 percent this week, a decline from the 6.04 percent average recorded last week.

The rates here do not include the fees known as points. Both 30- and 15-year mortgages each carried an average fee of 0.5 points. One-year and five-year ARMs each carried a fee of 0.6 point. One year ago, 30-year Florida home loans averaged 6.28 percent, 15-year mortgages stood at 5.81 percent, one-year ARMs were at 5.14 percent and five-year ARMs 5.75.