Daily Real Estate News  |  September 3, 2004  |   Mortgage Rates Take a Dive to 5-Month Low Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year mortgage rate fell from 5.82 percent to a five-month low of 5.77 percent during the past week. Interest on 15-year loans tumbled from 5.21 percent to 5.15 percent, while the one-year adjustable mortgage rate slipped from 4.05 percent to 3.97 percent. According to Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft, the decline can be attributed to weakening consumer confidence, which has many worried about how a drop in consumer spending will impact the economy. In related news, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports that refinancing activity rose slightly last week, edging up from 40.4 percent of all applications to 40.7 percent of the volume.

Source: Sun Herald (Port Charlotte, FL) (09/03/04); Aversa, Jeannine