Mortgage rates reverse declines
Long-term mortgage rates rose for the first time in three weeks, with a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage moving above 5 percent.
Freddie Mac’s weekly rate report says a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.05 percent in the week ended Feb. 25, up from 4.93 percent last week. A one-year, adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.15 percent, down from 4.23 percent last week.
"Interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgages followed long-term bond yields higher amid a mixed set of economic data reports," Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) chief economist Frank Nothaft said. "For instance, the January producer price index jumped well above market consensus, but the consumer price index remained subdued and consumer confidence declined to the lowest level since April 2009, according to The Conference Board flexcheck cash advance."
On Tuesday, Case-Shiller reported that home prices in Miami fell 9.9 percent between December 2008 and December 2009, but slipped just 0.3 percent between November and December.
And on Wednesday, First American CoreLogic reported that Florida has the third-highest percentage of homes under water.
Filed under: business by Fred