Florida Mortgage Rates Surge Upward

After drifting downward for three weeks, rates on 30-year Florida mortgages spiked to 6.73 percent this week, according to a survey by Freddie Mac.

That was a 10 basis-point, or 0.1 percent, jump from last week’s average of 6.63 percent. On June 14 rates on 30-year Florida mortgages, the benchmark for the home loan industry, reached an 11-month high of 6.74 percent.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said the company expects mortgage rates to stay right around this level through the end of the year.

“Freddie Mac expects weakness in the housing market to persist in the second half of the year, with 2007 total home sales and housing starts hitting 5-year lows,” he added.

Average rates on 15-year mortgages - a popular Florida refinance option - also climbed to 6.39 percent from 6.30 percent last week.

The “5/1″ ARM, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable each following year, averaged 6.35 percent, up from 6.29 percent last week.

The one-year ARM, on the other hand, remained at 5.71 percent this week. The increases pushed average rates close to year-ago levels.

Last year at this time, 30-year Florida mortgage rates averaged 6.74 percent and 15-years were 6.37 percent. The 1-year ARM averaged 5.75 percent and the 5-year was 6.35 percent.

On average, a Florida mortgage lender charged an average of 0.4 percent in fees and points on 30-year and 15-year mortgages, the same as last week, and 0.5 percent on the ARMs, a rise from last week’s 0.4 percent.

SOURCE: Reuters