Mortgage Market Survey for June 16, 2005

Here are the results of Freddie Mac's most recent, weekly primary mortgage market survey for the week of June 10th - June 16th, 2005:

• 30 year fixed rate mortgage: 5.63% (0.50 points)
• 15 year fixed rate mortgage: 5.22% (0.50 points)
• 5/1 year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM): 5.10% (0.50 points)
• 1 year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM): 4.25% (0.60 points)

This past week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.63 percent, with an average 0.5 point. This is up from last week when it averaged 5.56 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.32 percent.

The average for the 15-year FRM this week is 5.22 percent, with an average 0.5 point, also up from last week when it averaged 5.14 percent. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.70 percent.

Five-Year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.10 percent this week, with an average 0.5 point (it averaged 5.14 percent last week). There is no annual historical information for last year since Freddie Mac only began tracking this mortgage rate at the start of this year.

One-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 4.25 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.21 percent. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 4.13 percent.

Each week, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the nation to determine the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate; 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate; 5/1 hybrid ARM; and 1-year ARM. Currently, 125 lenders are surveyed each week and the mix of lender types - thrifts, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies - is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide.

Assuming a 30 year fixed loan on a single family residence in California valued at $400, 000 with a $300,000 loan amount, on a borrower with excellent credit, lets see how the interest rates offered by the major lenders, as of June 16th, are doing in comparison to the national average:

Bank of America - 5.625% with 0.966 points. APR = 5.740%

Chase - 5.500% with 0.875 points. APR = 5.580%

Citibank - 5.625% with 0.500 points. APR = 5.863%

CountryWide - 5.750% with 0.875 points. APR = 5.855%

Ditech - 5.375% with 0.375 points. APR = 5.449%

ELoan - 5.375% with 0.825 points. APR - 5.485%

ETrade - 5.375% with 1.375 points. APR - 5.550%

Indy Mac Bank - 5.625% with 0.625 points. APR - 5.731%

Washington Mutual - 5.625% with 0.625 points. APR - 5.715%

Wells Fargo - 5.625% with ? points. APR - 5.814%

This week, of the larger lenders, it looks like Ditech is offering the lowest APR, which is the effective annual interest rate once points and fees are factored into the cost of the loan.

Headline Re-cap for the week of June 4th - 10th, 2005

6/10/05 - Neighborhood Housing Services Puts Home Ownership Within Reach of Many New Yorkers - Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City is a nonprofit organization that gives grants and low-interest loans to low- and moderate-income homebuyers.

6/10/05 - CMG Mortgage Inc, a California based lender, has rolled out a new loan which enables people to pay off a 30-year adjustable rate loan in about 16 years. Their loan may be the first ever to combine a home mortgage, checking account and a line of credit in one package, which is available in California, Oregon and Washington. How it works is you direct-deposit your entire paycheck into your mortgage, instead of your checking account. This immediately reduces your principal balance. Since interest is based on your daily balance, you start saving interest immediately compared to traditional loans. You then pay all of your expenses out of your mortgage, just like you would with a traditional bank account -- using the unlimited checks, free ATM/Debit card, and free online bill-pay that comes with the account. Until you need the money, though, it's in your mortgage in the form of a lower principal balance, saving you 5-6% in mortgage interest, instead of earning 1% in a bank account. For more information, view CMG's Home Ownership Accelerator mortgage page.

6/10/05 - Federal Reserve Chief, Alan Greenspan informed the US Senate that, the country's economy was not going through a slowdown, he also endorsed the decision to increase interest rates further.

6/10/05 - Home values STILL moving higher

6/09/05 - Foreclosures rising in Denver, Colorado

6/08/05 - Seeking new business, the finance industry is aggressively courting the "thin credit" markets it previously shunned. Many "nontraditional" models of credit scoring have been put into practice by lenders, emphasizing rental and utility payments, as a way of gauging a customer's ability to pay their debts. According to research performed by the Fair Isaac Corporation, as many as 50 million Americans may have little or no credit history, placing them in the ranks of the "thin credit" files or "unscoreables." In July of 2004, the Fair Isaac Corporation, creators of the FICO score model, unveiled the FICO Expansion score as a means to build credit histories for "underserved" consumers in America. See New Forms of Credit Scoring for more info on this subject.

6/08/05 - Chase and Bank One, the consumer brands of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), announced today that their credit card, mortgage and other loan customers can now make payments at any Chase or Bank One branch. The cross-branch payments capability is a significant milestone in the integration of the Bank One brand into Chase. See JPMorgan Chase Press Release for further details

6/08/05 - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Jack Guynn said in a speech that the Fed's Open Market Committee was not yet ready to stop its policy of modest rate increases.

6/07/05 - The Associated Press reports: Consumer Credit Increase Slows in April. Americans increased their borrowing for auto loans and other types of consumer debt at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in April, the slowest increase in five months, the government said Tuesday. The Federal Reserve reported that the April increase represented a rise in consumer credit of $1.26 billion, significantly below the $7.5 billion increase that many analysts had been expecting.

6/07/05 - Washington Mutual and Johnson Development Corporation Expand the ``Magic'' of Home Ownership in Chicago

6/06/05 - As reported by the San Francisco Cronicle, San Francisco credit-card issuer Providian Financial agreed to a takeover by Washington Mutual of Seattle, the nation's largest savings and loan, in a cash and stock deal valued at $6.45 billion.

Lender Comparison

As of today (June 10, 2005), the current nationwide average for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is 5.62% with 0.60 points. Assuming a 30 year fixed loan on a single family residence in California valued at $400, 000 with a $300,000 loan amount, on a borrower with excellent credit, lets see how the interest rates offered by the major lenders are doing in comparison to the national average:

• Bank of America - 5.375% with 0.971 points. APR = 5.487%
• Chase - 5.375% with 1.0 points. APR = 5.466%
• Citibank - 5.375% with 1.250 points. APR = 5.678%
• CountryWide - 5.625% with 1.125 points. APR = 5.752%
• Ditech - 5.250% with 0.500 points. APR = 5.376%
• ELoan - 5.375% with 0.845 points. APR - 5.487%
• ETrade - 5.125% with 1.375 points. APR - 5.370%
• Indy Mac Bank - 5.250% with 1.375 points. APR - 5.422%
• Washington Mutual - 5.500% with 0.625 points. APR - 5.589%
• Wells Fargo - 5.625% with ? points. APR - 5.814%

This week, it looks like ETrade Financial is offering the lowest APR, which is the effective annual interest rate once points and fees are factored into the cost of the loan.

Freddie Mac's Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey

Here are the results of Freddie Mac's most recent, weekly primary mortgage market survey for the week of June 3rd - June 9th, 2005:

• 30 year fixed rate mortgage: 5.56% (0.60 points)
• 15 year fixed rate mortgage: 5.21% (0.60 points)
• 5/1 year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM): 5.07% (0.70 points)
• 1 year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM): 4.21% (0.70 points)

At this time last year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.30 percent. This is the lowest rate since April 1, 2004.

The average for the 15-year FRM this week is 5.14 percent, with an average 0.5 point, also down from last week when it averaged 5.20 percent. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.67 percent.

Five-Year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.01 percent this week, with an average 0.5 point (it averaged 5.10 percent last week. There is no annual historical information for last year since Freddie Mac only began tracking this mortgage rate at the start of this year.

One-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 4.21 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.26 percent. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 4.14 percent.

Each week, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the nation to determine the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate; 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate; 5/1 hybrid ARM; and 1-year ARM. Currently, 125 lenders are surveyed each week and the mix of lender types - thrifts, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies - is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide.

Free credit reports now available to residents of southern states

As of June 1, 2005, free credit reports are now available to those living in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Last March, free credit reports became available to those living in : Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Last December, residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming were granted the right to a free credit report.

By September 1, 2005 every American will be able to get one free credit report every year -- with no further obligations and no subscription to cancel. The free credit reports are the result of The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) final ruling regarding free annual credit reports under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). FACTA, which was enacted on December 4, 2003, amends the FCRA and requires, among other things, that the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union) provide to consumers, upon request, a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months. According to the ruling, a free copy of your credit report must be provided upon your request to one of the following three centralized sources:

1. annualcreditreport.com
2. 877-322-8228
3. by completing the FTC's Annual Credit Report Request form , and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA, 30348-5281

You can order all three credit reports (one from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) at one time, or at different times throughout the year... It's your choice.

The free credit report program is rolling out region-by-region with residents of the West, Midwest & South now eligible to request their free annual credit reports. On September 1, 2005, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico and all U.S. territories will become eligible.

Of course, if you've been denied a loan, insurance policy or job based on your credit report; or you're applying for unemployment or receive public assistance; you are also entitled to receive a free credit report.

For those of you living in Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and Vermont, your state laws already entitle you to a free annual credit report. If you're lucky enough to live in Georgia, you are entitled to two free annual credit reports from each credit reporting agency.