Florida Mortgage Loans: Rates Rise Slightly, Volatile Weeks to Come

Florida mortgage rates moved slightly higher over the week, according to a weekly survey of the state’s mortgage lenders released on Thursday.

However, experts believe mortgage rates could experience more movement over the coming weeks as key indicators for the housing market and the economy are released.

The 30-year fixed-rate Florida mortgage averaged 6.30 percent for the week ending February 15, up from last week’s average of 6.28 percent, according to the survey of the state’s mortgage companies.

The 30-year Florida home loan, considered the industry’s benchmark mortgage, also averaged 6.28 percent a year ago.

Meanwhile, 15-year fixed-rate Florida home loans averaged 6.03 percent, up from last week’s 6.02 percent average.

The 15-year mortgage averaged 5.91 percent a year ago.

Five-year hybrid ARMs averaged 6.01 percent for the week, up from last week’s 5.99 percent average. The five-year adjustable-rate Florida mortgage averaged 5.95 percent a year ago.

The one-year Treasury indexed ARM - an option that has become increasingly popular in recent years given the state’s high housing prices - averaged 5.52 percent, up a bit from last week’s 5.49 percent average.

The 1-year ARM averaged 5.36 percent a year ago.

To obtain the rates quoted in the survey above, both the 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages required the payment of an average 0.4 points, while 5-year ARMs required an average of 0.5 points and the 1-year ARMs saw an average of 0.6 points.

The Florida mortgage rates showed only small changes because there was relatively little new information that would prompt them to move.

Retail sales and consumer spending were both virtually unchanged from December’s levels. Furthermore, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before a Senate committee and forecasted that the economy seemed likely to expand moderately this year and next with gradual easing of inflation.

Next week, January housing starts, along with the producer price index and the consumer price index, will be released, and those comprise the first indicators of the housing market and inflation in early 2007.

In response, Florida mortgage rates may move more suddenly.

In a separate survey released Wednesday, mortgage applications were found to have increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent in the week ending February 9.

Applications for home purchase loans and Florida mortgage refinancing were were up 10.9 percent compared with the same week in 2006. The survey taken by the Mortgage Bankers Association covers about half of all retail residential mortgage originations.