Florida Mortgage Rates Fall Significantly

Florida mortgage rates dropped in the latest week, which could offer help to some home buyers who are looking into refinancing.

Freddie Mac said the average rate on the industry’s benchmark loan - a 30-year fixed-rate Florida home loan - averaged 6.31 percent for the week that ended September 13, down significantly from 6.46 percent last week.

Last year at this time, 30-year Florida mortgage rates were somewhere in between the two, averaging 6.43 percent.

“The drop in mortgage rates may give some much-needed relief to borrowers who are looking to refinance or purchase a home,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

“As a matter of fact, all the mortgage products in Freddie Mac’s survey this week were lower than they were at the same time last year.”

A year ago, 15-year Florida home loan rates averaged 6.11 percent.

In its latest report, Freddie Mac said rates on 15-year fixed-rate home loans - a popular Florida refinance option - averaged a low 5.97 percent in the last week, down from 6.15 percent last week.

Five-year adjustable-rate Florida mortgages (ARMs) were also way down, having averaged 6.17 percent this week, down from 6.32 percent last week.

At this time a year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 6.10 percent.

Lastly, one-year ARMs averaged 5.66 percent, down ever so slightly from 5.67 percent last week. They were at 5.60 percent this time last year.

SOURCE: CNN Money