Mortgage rates in the U.S. fell back near record lows in the week of April 16, averaging 4.82% for 30-year loans. This was slightly lower than the previous week and nearly a full percentage point below rates from a year ago. The low rates are helping to boost refinancing and could attract more home buyers. However, strict lending standards mean many potential buyers still cannot qualify for loans. The housing market remains weak with high foreclosure and unsold home inventories weighing on the economy.

1. UPDATE 1-U.S. mortgage rates slide back near record lows | Reuters.com Page 1 of 2
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UPDATE 1-U.S. mortgage rates slide back
near record lows
Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:06pm EDT
(Adds quotes, background, byline)
By Lynn Adler
NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage rates fell back toward record
lows this week and stayed a percentage point below levels a year ago just as
the important spring sales season heats up, Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote,
Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (FRE.P: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock
Buzz) said on Thursday.
Low mortgage rates are a boon for owners looking to cut monthly payments
by refinancing and should attract new buyers.
The flailing housing market is seen keeping the U.S. economy mired in
recession until sales rise enough to sop up record numbers of unsold homes
and put a floor under prices.
The average 30-year home loan rate fell 0.05 percentage point in the April 16
week to 4.82 percent from the prior week. A year ago, the rate was 5.88
percent.
This week's rate nearly matched the 4.78 percent seen two weeks ago that
was the lowest since government-controlled Freddie Mac, the second-largest
U.S. home funding company, started tracking these rates in 1971.
For more loan details click on [ID:nWAT011288].
Lenders charged an average of 0.6 percentage point on 30-year mortgages,
down from 0.7 point the prior week.
Sweeping government action to hammer down mortgage rates and breathe
life into the deepest housing slump since the Great Depression is showing
sporadic signs of success, economists said. Progress is choppy, however,
and it is unclear how sustainable it is.
"The housing industry is starting to exhibit some positive signs, albeit scarce
and too early to tell how permanent," Freddie Mac chief economist Frank
Nothaft said in a statement.
Home builder confidence in April posted its biggest monthly leap since 2003,
a national industry group reported on Wednesday. Buyer traffic at the start of
http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN1616194620090416 4/17/2009

2. UPDATE 1-U.S. mortgage rates slide back near record lows | Reuters.com Page 2 of 2
the key spring selling season picked up as rates and prices dropped.
Applications to refinance have doubled since the end of February while 30-
year loan rates tumbled by about half a percentage point, the Mortgage
Bankers Association said.
With affordability at an all-time high, demand is keen from first-time buyers
who are eligible for up to $8,000 in federal tax credits and some state credits
as well. Investors have returned too, looking for deep discounts.
But fear of losing jobs keeps many potential buyers trepidatious, industry
executives agree, and many borrowers still are unable to qualify under now
more stringent lending guidelines.
"Mortgage rates are at an all-time low but you have to almost be King Midas
to qualify for the loan," said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at foreclosure
tracking company RealtyTrac in Irvine, California.
"You need a nearly perfect credit score and job history and a significant
downpayment to qualify," he said. "That wipes out a huge portion of the
buying population."
RealtyTrac reported record foreclosures both in March and for the first
quarter, as industry moratorium programs ended last month before federal
housing rescues could take root. See story at [ID:nNYS004999].
Some realtors are taking innovative steps to lure buyers out of hibernation
and stimulate business.
In April, Century 21 Real Estate will give a sweepstakes winner $221,000
toward the purchase of a home.
"We felt it was time because of the marketplace to go out and help our agents
drum up some business," Thomas Kunz, Parsippany, New Jersey-based
chief executive of Century 21, said in a recent interview. (Editing by James
Dalgleish)
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