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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 16, 2007

30-year mortgage rates steady at 6.14%

By Martin Crutsinger
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Rates on 30-year mortgages remained at the lowest level since mid-December as investors waited for more concrete information on the direction of the economy.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported yesterday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.14 percent this week, unchanged from last week.

For the past two weeks, 30-year mortgages have been at the lowest level since they averaged 6.13 percent the week of Dec. 21.

Other mortgage rates showed only small movements this week. Analysts said investors were waiting for more data to get a firmer fix on where the economy was headed, given mixed signals in recent reports.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, edged up slightly this week to 5.88 percent, compared to 5.86 percent last week.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages were unchanged at 5.90 percent, the same as last week.

One-year ARMs dipped to 5.42 percent, down from 5.47 percent.

The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Thirty-year and 15-year mortgages both carried a nationwide average fee of 0.4 point. The five-year mortgage had an average fee of 0.6 point, while the one-year mortgage carried a 0.7 point average fee.

A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages stood at 6.34 percent while 15-year mortgages were at 5.98 percent, five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.93 percent and one-year ARMs were at 5.37 percent.

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