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Mortgage rates continue to fluctuate

January 3, 2011 - Separate reports show that while mortgage rates have come off their recent record-lows, moving into a new home remains an affordable venture.

The average interest on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.86 percent during the week ending December 30, up from 4.81 percent during the previous week, according to Freddie Mac. The government-sponsored mortgage giant also added that 15-year mortgage rates climbed to 4.20 percent from 4.15 percent the previous week. Five-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages also ticked higher, but the recent rises did little to dissuade analysts. Most agreed that 2010 was the year of record-breaking mortgage rates.

"For the year as a whole, 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged just below 4.7 percent, which represented the lowest annual average since 1955 when secondary market yields on [Federal Housing Administration] mortgages were above 4.6 percent and the average price of a home was $22,000," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist and vice president.

Mortgage rates not sit roughly where they did in May, immediately after the homebuyer tax credit expired.

A different report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed those who packed their moving boxes this fall and locked in record-low rates are reaping the benefits now. The agency reported that the average rate on 30-year mortgages was 4.38 percent in November, reflecting loans that were closed in late November but originated in mid-October.

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