Residential Mortgage Loans

Mortgage loans on new homes are more costly and less generous than in previous years. The table below shows that since 1997 interest rates have increased to 8.20 percent from 7.76 percent, and the loan-to-price ratio has declined to 78.0 percent from 80.4 percent. These trends in interest rates suggest that the market value of some residential mortgages now held in portfolios have declined in value.