Freddie: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at record low

Published on Jul 08, 2010

"With mortgage rates falling to historic lows, refinance activity has been strong over the past three months," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the effective mortgage rate of all loans outstanding was just below six percent in the first quarter of 2010, the lowest since the series began in 1977. Since the start of the second quarter, two out of three mortgage applications on average were for refinancing, according the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Household balance sheets also improved in other ways over the first three months of the year. The Federal Reserve (Fed) reported household net worth rose by almost $1.1 trillion in the first quarter of 2010. The share of credit card loans that were 30-days or more past due fell to the lowest since first quarter of 2002, according to the American Bankers Association. Finally, the aggregate household debt burdens were at a level not seen since the third quarter of 2000, based on the Fed’s debt service ratio.