Agency Releases Mortgage Rate Data

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that the national average contract mortgage rate for the purchase of previously occupied homes by combined lenders, used as an index in some adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) contracts, was 4.55% based on loans closed in September.

This is a decrease of 0.10% from the previous month.

The average interest rate on conventional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loans of $417,000 or less decreased 12 basis points (bp) to 4.58% in September. The average interest rate on 15-year, fixed-rate loans of $417,000 increased 11 bp to 4.57% in September.

These rates are calculated from the FHFA’s monthly interest rate survey of purchase-money mortgages. These results reflect loans closed during the Sept.
24-30 period.

Typically, the interest rate is determined 30 to 45 days before the loan is closed. Thus, the reported rates depict market conditions prevailing in mid to late August.

The contract rate on the composite of all mortgage loans (fixed- and adjustable-rate) was 4.52% in September, down 11 bp from 4.63% in August. The effective interest rate, which reflects the amortization of initial fees and charges, was 4.64% in September, down 10 bp from 4.74% in August.

This report contains no data on ARMs due to insufficient sample size. Initial fees and charges were 0.82% of the loan balance in September, up 0.01%in August.

Other findings:

• 28% of the purchase-money mortgage loans originated in September were “no-point” mortgages, up from 31% in August;
• The average mortgage term was 27.6 years in September, up 0.1 years from 27.5 years in August;
• The average loan-to-price ratio in September was 73.3%, unchanged from July; and
• The average loan amount was $210,900 in September, down from $216,700 in August.

The October index value will be announced Nov. 23, 2010.