Florida Home Loan Rates Fall Slightly For Week

Florida mortgage rates eased this week after rising substantially over the past two months, a Freddie Mac survey revealed Thursday.

The government-sponsored loan buyer said the average Florida home loan rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 6.69 percent, from 6.73 percent a week ago, for the week ending July 26.

Last year at this time, 30-year Florida mortgage rates were 6.72 percent.

“[Florida mortgage rates] eased this week on market concerns that a weakening of housing demand this spring will delay any recovery in the sector,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist.

“For example, building permits fell last month to the slowest pace in a decade, and more recent housing market data regarding June sales of existing homes showed a fourth consecutive monthly decline.”

Several factors contributed to the softening in the housing market this spring. In addition to the tightening of lending standards earlier this year, especially on bad credit Florida mortgage loans, the 40 basis point (0.40 percent) jump in rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in June may have deterred many potential buyers.

For the year-to-date, sales of single-family homes this year were down about 9 percent from the first half of 2006.

In its latest report, the home loan buyer said rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans - a popular Florida mortgage refinancing product - averaged 6.37 percent in the latest week, down from 6.38 percent last week.

A year ago, the 15-year Florida home mortgage rate was 6.34 percent.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.30 percent, down from 6.35 percent last week. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged the very same 6.35 percent.

One-year ARMs averaged 5.69 percent this week, down from 6.72 percent last week. At this time last year, this adjustable Florida mortgage was at average of 5.78 percent.

SOURCE: CNN Money