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Mortgage Rates Keep Sliding

Posted: 11:39 am MDT June 23, 2005Updated: 11:48 am MDT June 23, 2005

Last week's increases in mortgage rates have been undone, and rates are back near their recent 14-month lows.

Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday that rates on 30-year fixed-rate home loans fell to an average 5.57 percent, from 5.63 percent last week.

A competing survey from Bankrate.com showed a similar decline, to an average 5.66 percent.

Bankrate said the dip in rates followed a prediction from influential bond-fund manager Bill Gross of PIMCO that the Federal Reserve might actually reverse course and lower interest rates later in the year.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages and five-year adjustables also fell this week, in both the Freddie Mac and Bankrate surveys.

According to Bankrate, mortgage rates have dropped by approximately 0.5 percent in the past three months, with monthly mortgage payments falling as well.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.15 percent on March 23.

At the time, the monthly payment on a $165,000 loan was $1,005.23.

With the average rate now 5.66 percent, the monthly payment on the same $165,000 loan was $953.48.

Refinancing now would save nearly $52 each month, or more than $18,600 over the loan term.

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