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Mortgage Rates For Week Ending May 17, 2007

McLean, VA Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.21 percent with an average 0.4 point for the week ending May 17, 2007, up from last week when it averaged 6.15 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.60 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 5.92 percent with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 5.87 percent. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.20 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.92 percent this week, with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 5.89 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.23 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.48 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, unchanged from last week when it averaged 5.48 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.62 percent.

(Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total cost of obtaining the mortgage.)

"Mortgage rates inched up this week following the Federal Open Market Committee statement reiterating that the predominant concern remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist. "However, as long as core inflation continues to trend downward and economic growth remains sub-par it is unlikely that we will see any big movement in mortgage rates.

Recent indicators point to continued weakness in the housing market, with the bottom of the cycle still months away. There are signs that house sales are stabilizing and excess inventories beginning to come under control, but building permits continue to be weak and condo sales are soft in a number of markets. On a bright note, existing home sales in the first quarter were up 2.4 percent over the fourth quarter of 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors. And the average pace of mortgage applications for home purchase over the first two weeks in May was the strongest since January 2006, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association."

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than four million renters in America.