From News Services and Staff Reports
Saturday, October 21, 2006

Rates on 30-year mortgages, after rising for the first time in five weeks, edged down slightly this week.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rates dipped to 6.36 percent. That compared with 6.37 percent last week when rates had risen after having fallen to a seven-month low of 6.24 percent.

All categories of mortgages showed little change this week, a fact that analysts attributed to financial markets preferring to wait and see what the Federal Reserve will do at its meeting next week.

"General consensus leans heavily toward the notion that the Fed will not raise rates at that meeting, taking upward pressure off mortgage rates this week," said Frank E. Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, averaged 6.06 percent this week, the same as last week.

Rates on one-year adjustable rate mortgages edged up slightly to 6.11 percent, compared to 6.10 percent last week.

Rates on five-year adjustable rate mortgages rose to 5.57 percent, up from last week's 5.56 percent.

The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The 30-year, 15-year and five-year mortgages each carried an average nationwide fee of 0.5 point. The one-year ARM had a nationwide average fee of 0.8 point.

A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 6.10 percent, 15-year mortgages stood at 5.65 percent, one-year ARMs were at 4.89 percent and the five-year ARMs were at 5.59 percent.

LEARN ABOUT LEAD PAINT . . . Several D.C. government agencies are among the sponsors of "Lead-Safe Fair: Healthy Homes -- Healthy Children" on Oct. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Reeves Center, 2000 14th St. NW. This event will provide information about lead-based paint hazards, safety precautions and preventive measures. Blood screening for lead will be available.

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