Mortgage Rate Trends for the week 12/25/2008

In what is traditionally a slow week in the American mortgage industry, evidenced by a fall off in new mortgage applications of over 14 per cent this week, across-the-board Atlanta mortgage rates rose again this week for the third week in a row.

According Bankrate.com’s national survey of large lenders, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose from last week’s 5.68 per cent to end the year this week at 5.72 per cent.  15-year fixed rate mortgage rates did not fair any better with a similar rise of four basis from last week’s 5.44 per cent to see the year out at 5.48 per cent.  Possibly surprising some was the fact that 5-year adjustable rate mortgage rates faired the best this week, only rising three basis points from last week’s 5.52 per cent to end the year at 5.55 per cent.  A one basis point rise in Atlanta mortgage rates represents a rise of one percentage point of one percent.

Nonetheless, while the last three weeks of 2006 have not been good for Atlanta mortgage rates, American homeowners will no doubt be feeling much happier with where mortgage rates are today versus where they were just three months ago.  Indeed, as a result of the run of declining mortgage rates in the last quarter of 2006, the last quarter of 2006 now has the enviable label of being the quarter in the year that saw the lowest average rate.