Florida Mortgage Rates Fall Further

Florida mortgage rates declined for the second consecutive week, due in large part to indications of a slowing economy and lower inflation, the chief economist for mortgage giant Freddie Mac said on Thursday.

“Home mortgage rates drifted lower largely on the basis of new economic data suggesting a slower economy and lower inflation,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a news release.

According to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of the Florida mortgage lenders, the 30-year fixed-rate home loan averaged just 6.18 percent for the week ending March 1, down from last week’s 6.22 percent.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage - the most common Florida home loan and considered the industry’s benchmark financing product - averaged a very similar 6.24 percent a year ago.

A popular choice for Florida mortgage refinancing, the 15-year fixed-rate home mortgage loan, averaged 5.92 percent, down from 5.97 percent seven days ago. The mortgage averaged almost the same a year ago, 5.89 percent.

Meanwhile, five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARMs averaged 5.93 percent, down from last week’s 5.96 percent average. A year ago, that Florida mortgage product could have been attained at 5.97 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs came in at 5.49 percent in the week ending March 1, a figure unchanged from last week. This ARM averaged 5.34 percent a year ago.

To obtain the Florida home mortgage rates quoted above, the 30-year fixed-rate home loan required payment of an average of 0.4 points.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage loans necessitated an average of 0.5 points.

“GDP growth for the last quarter was revised downward to a 2.2 percent rate, compared to the 3.5 percent initially estimated, while the accompanying price measure showed that inflation was tamer than first reported, at a revised 1.9 percent annualized rate,” Nothaft added.

Weakness in January new-home sales and the unexpected rise of existing home sales for the month painted a mixed picture of the Florida housing market.

According to a separate survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday, Florida mortgage applications increased by 3.2 percent for the week ending February 23, and volume was up 8.8 percent from a year ago.