Mortgage Reports

30 year fixed mortgage rates can vary considerably from time to time. At the time of writing (end of November 2009) some mortgages are nearly the lowest they have been in 18 years, and might continue to fall. There are easy-to-find websites where one can find daily average mortgage rates, overall and by US state.

A fixed rate mortgage means that the interest rate will not change for the duration of the loan. Since the rate is currently unusually low, this seems like a good time to get a fixed-rate mortgage, although be careful to check other terms and conditions, as the interest percentage is not the only factor of importance.

The advantage of these types of mortgages is that they are good for people who don’t want to be surprised by changes in the interest rate on their repayments. They are good for those who intend to stay in the same house for five or more years. The disadvantages are that the interest rate on a thirty-year fixed loan is likely to be slightly more than on an adjustable (or variable) rate loan, plus if the home is sold in less than five years the loan is not so attractive.

The rates are equal to the lowest ever rate in recorded data. The reason for these unusually low rates is that the Federal Reserve spent more than a trillion dollars in mortgage-backed securities to push the rate lower in order to help poor housing markets. Currently however conditions for borrowing remain stringent. Most of the sub-prime lenders have disappeared meaning that only people with good credit rating and applying for a fairly standard type of loan are likely to be accepted.

A good way to find out if there might be any sub-prime mortgage lenders still available in your area is to ask your real-estate agent or broker.

It might be still possible to find even better mortgage rates than the average by going to wholesale mortgage lenders who commonly lend at less than the average rate. The disadvantage is that they are more difficult to find and require a clearer understanding of terms and conditions than the easy-to-find mortgage lenders.

30 year fixed mortgage rates are looking good currently, so this type of mortgage might be a good choice for some people.