October 28, 2011 (Jeff Alan)
The average interest rates for conventional 30-year fixed rate mortgages declined from 4.63 percent in August to 4.56 percent in September according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) Monthly Interest Rate Survey.
The results of the survey reflect loans closed during the September 26-30 period from 32 lenders and data from 4,131 mortgage loans. Since mortgage loans typically take 30-45 to close, the reported rates reflect market conditions in mid to late August.
The average interest rate of all mortgage loans, fixed and adjustable-rate, was 4.36 percent in September, down from 4.52 percent in August.
The effective mortgage interest rate, including initial fees and charges, declined in September to 4.49 percent from 4.65 percent in August.
Twenty-nine percent of all purchase-money mortgage loans were no-point loans, down from 30 percent in August but consistent with the levels seen over the past six months.
Initial fees and charges averaged 0.94 percent of the loan balance in September, up from 0.90 percent in August.
The average loan amount increased in September to $222,700 from $214,300 in August, with the average loan-to-price ratio increasing from 77.2 percent in August to 78.3 percent in September.
The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Home by Combined Lenders, used to index some ARM contracts, decreased from 4.56 percent in August to 4.38 percent in September.
Tags: FHFA, mortgage interest rates, purchase money mortgages, initial fees and charges, points, mortgage loan, ARM, no-points mortgage
Source:
FHFA