Lowest Mortgage Rates Are Here Again

If you're a regular reader of this column, you'll have seen terms like "lowest mortgage rates" and "best mortgage rates" used a lot recently. Then, in the body of the article, you'll have found words qualifying this--words like "some of the lowest" or "near-lowest."

But this week is different. Freddie Mac announced Wednesday that current mortgage rates match--or, for some home loans, better--the lowest rates on record.

Today's Mortgage Rates

The average national rate for the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) is currently 4.78%. That's the same as it was back in April 2009, when the previous record low was set. Frank Nothaft, a Freddie Mac vice president and the organization's chief economist, said in a statement:

"Long-term mortgage rates eased for the fourth consecutive week to record levels. Interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgage loans tied an all-time record low while both 15-year fixed mortgages and 5-year ARMs [adjustable-rate mortgages] broke their corresponding records. Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans are currently 0.8 percentage points below this year's peak [...]

House prices are slowly beginning to firm now. For instance, annual house price declines slowed for the sixth consecutive month in September, down only 3%, and represented the smallest decline since February 2008[...]."

Good News for Homeowners and Prospective Homeowners...

All of this means serious savings for first-time buyers, those who are moving, and those who want a home refinance now. If you'd signed up for a $200,000 mortgage in mid-June--when 2009 rates were at their highest--you'd be approximately $100 a month worse off than if you got a new mortgage now at the best advertised rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Go back to this time last year, and the savings between then and now are even greater. On a 30-year fixed $200,000 mortgage taken out around Thanksgiving 2008, your current monthly repayments would be $1,195.25. With today's mortgage rates, your monthly payments could be $1,046.91. That's $148.34 less.

If those figures have whetted your appetite (assuming you still have one after Thanksgiving), then compare mortgage rates to identify competitive deals from mortgage lenders.