Florida Mortgage Rates Inch Downward

Average interest rates on Florida mortgages were little changed in the past week, a weekly Freddie Mac survey revealed Thursday.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate Florida mortgage products inched down to 6.16 percent from 6.17 percent, according to a weekly survey conducted among the state’s lenders.

Rates on 15-year mortgage loans - a very popular Florida refinance option - also fell slightly, to 5.87 percent from 5.89 percent a week ago.

Also, one-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.43 percent, down from last week’s average of 5.45 percent.

Overall, Florida home loan costs remained well below their year-ago levels, when 30-year mortgages averaged 6.58 percent, 15-years were 6.21 percent, and the one year ARM was 5.68 percent.

“Recent economic data releases showing weaker existing home sales in March, coupled with lower consumer confidence in April, caused the market to pause, reevaluating the potential growth of the economy this year,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

“This allowed all mortgage rates to decline slightly this week.”

The National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday that March’s drop in existing home sales of 8.4 percent was the largest since January 1989.

Freddie Mac said that on average, a Florida mortgage lender charged around 0.5 percent in fees and points on 30-year and 15-year mortgage loans, both the same amounts as were charged last week.

Fees on the one-year ARM were also unchanged, at 0.7 percent.

The “5/1″ ARM, a Florida mortgage at a fixed rate for five years, then adjustable each following year, fell to 5.88 percent from 5.92 percent last week.

Fees and points charged on the hybrid Florida mortgage averaged 0.7 percent, up slightly from last week’s 0.6.

SOURCE: Reuters