HOME LOAN RATES JUMP; NINE-MONTH HIGH REACHED.Byline: Daily News Wire Services The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose above 7 percent this week, the highest level in nine months, Freddie Mac Freddie Mac: see Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. , the mortgage company, said Thursday. The average increased for the fifth consecutive week to 7.06 percent, the highest level since the end of May 1998. It had been 6.89 percent the previous week. The increase, if sustained, will slightly cool home sales and sharply reduce mortgage refinancing, a key support for consumer spending Consumer demand or consumption is also known as personal consumption expenditure. It is the largest part of aggregate demand or effective demand at the macroeconomic level. during the past year, analysts said. ``New cash flows from refinancings have been a significant source of consumer spending but I don't think it will be there this year,'' said economist Sung Won Sohn Sung Won Sohn is a renowned American economist. He was named one of the top five most accurate economic forecaster in 2001 by Bloomberg News. Sohn studied economics at the University of Florida and earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. of Wells Fargo Wells Fargo armored carriers of bullion. [Am. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1147] See : Protectiveness Wells Fargo company that handled express service to western states; often robbed. [Am. Hist. & Co. in Minneapolis. The average reached a 31-year low of 6.49 percent in early October as worried world investors poured their money into U.S. financial markets. That helped send sales of both new and existing homes to record highs last year. Even with the recent climb, the average remains low by historical standards, said Freddie Mac economist Robert Van Order. ``Interest rates will probably be even higher in next week's survey,'' he said. ``That said, it's good to remember that even with interest rates at higher levels . . . we are still experiencing rates that are comparable to the very early 1970s.'' The rates do not include add-on fees known as points, which averaged 1 percent of the loan amount for each type of mortgage. Freddie Mac, a secondary-market buyer of home loans, surveys 125 lenders nationally each week. The survey is completed Wednesdays and released Thursdays. ``Given the current volatility in the market, this might be a good time for consumers who are refinancing or buying a home to lock in their rate,'' Van Order said. ``Interest rates will probably be even higher in next week's survey.'' Ross Bennett, a vice president of Thomas Mortgage & Financial Services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. in Altamonte Springs Al·ta·monte Springs A city of east-central Florida, a residential suburb of Orlando. Population: 40,900. , Fla., noted that when he started in the mortgage business in 1977, the FHA loan FHA loan is a federal assistance mortgage loan in the United States insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The loan may be issued by federally qualified lenders. rate was 8.5 percent. |
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