Trends in Mortgage Rates

In last month's issue of Spotlight we reported the rise in home building. A key factor that fostered this increase was the continuing decline in home mortgage interest rates. Fortunately for homebuilders, mortgage rates have drifted downwards the last 18 months. The accompanying table shows that over the period, interest rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 6.87 percent to 6.05 percent, while rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined from 7.30 percent to 6.57 percent. Obviously, these changes have also encouraged refinancing of existing mortgages.

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