Florida Mortgage Rates Fall Slightly For Week
Rates on 30-year Florida mortgages fell again this week, to 6.67 percent from 6.69 percent last week, according to a weekly survey.
Average rates on 15-year Florida mortgages also dropped.
The popular Florida refinance option fell to 6.34 percent from 6.37 percent, while at the same time, rates on one-year ARMs averaged 5.65, a small decline from 5.66 percent last week.
Reports that existing home sales dropped in May as part of what Freddie Mac calls “the current housing recession” helped Florida mortgage rates ease.
The mortgage giant also said the market is waiting to see if the Federal Reserve changes policy at the conclusion of its meeting on Thursday.
“Mortgage rates edged down slightly for the second week in a row after having risen over the previous month and a half, and as financial markets prepared for the June 28 Federal Reserve statement on monetary policy,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist.
On Monday, the National Association of Realtors reported that home sellers continue to struggle - existing home sales in May fell 0.3 percent to the lowest level since June 2003.
The Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that new home sales in the same month dropped by 1.6 percent. Home loan applications have declined this year, though Florida mortgage refinancing has been popular.
Average mortgage rates are now also lower than a year ago, when 30-year Florida home loans averaged 6.78 percent and 15-year mortgages averaged 6.43 percent.
Last year at this time, the cost to borrow via an ARM was 5.82 percent.
The “5/1″ ARM, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable each year following that, averaged 6.30 percent this week, compared to 6.31 percent last week and 6.39 percent last year.
In all, a Florida mortgage lender charged an average of 0.4 percent in fees and points on 30- and 15-year loans, both down from 0.5 percent last week.
Fees on the one-year ARM averaged 0.5 percent, down from 0.7 percent last week, and 0.5 percent percent on the 5/1 ARM, down from 0.7 percent.
SOURCE: Reuters
