Mortgage rates continue to fall

07.12.09
By Nicholas Storie

Mortgage loans may be more appealing to a number of Americans looking to purchase a home or refinance their current mortgage as the most recent figures show that mortgage rates continue to go down.

Numbers from Freddie Mac show that the rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgage fell with the organization reporting that the average rates for 30-year fixed mortgages decreased for the second week in a row - falling from 5.32 percent last week to 5.2 percent for the week ending July 9.

Freddie Mac's chief economist Frank Northaft said the recent drop in mortgage rates reflect uncertainty in the economy and a shaky job market.

"The weak employment situation coupled with declining home values in many markets has added to greater defaults on home equity loans and lines of credit," he told the Associated Press.


Although mortgage rates are improved, figures show that Americans are foreclosing on their existing homes at an increasing level.

A report earlier this month from the Mortgage Bankers Association noted that increase in foreclosure rates between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 reached its highest level since 1972 - the year the organization began tracking the figures.

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Americans appear to be getting a break on their mortgage rates