average interest rate on conventional 30-year, fixed-rate, mortgage loans of $417,000 or

less decreased 7 basis points to 5.23 percent in September. The average interest rate on 15-

year, fixed-rate loans of $417,000 or less increased 15 basis points to 4.77 percent in

September. These rates are calculated from the FHFA’s Monthly Interest Rate Survey

(MIRS) of purchase-money mortgages. These results reflect loans closed during the

September 24-30 period. Typically, the interest rate is determined 30 to 45 days before

the loan is closed. Thus, the reported rates depict market conditions prevailing in mid- to

late-August.

The contract rate on the composite of all mortgage loans (fixed- and adjustable-rate) was

5.15 percent in September, down 8 basis points from 5.23 percent in August. The effective

interest rate, which reflects the amortization of initial fees and charges, was 5.24 percent in

September, down 9 basis points from 5.33 percent in August.

This report contains no data on adjustable-rate mortgages due to insufficient sample size.

Initial fees and charges were 0.62 percent of the loan balance in September, down 0.05

percent from 0.67 in August. Forty-five percent of the purchase-money mortgage loans

originated in September were “no-point” mortgages, up from 44 percent in August. The

average term was 28.0 years in September, down 0.1 years from 28.1 years in August. The

average loan-to-price ratio in September was 74.5 percent, down from 74.6 percent in

August. The average loan amount decreased by $9,400 to $212,400 in September.

The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied

Homes by Combined Lenders, used as an index in some ARM contracts, was 5.16 percent

based on loans closed in September. This is a decrease of 0.09 percent from the previous

month. This Contract Rate series can be found at

http://www.fhfa.gov/Default.aspx?Page=251

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http://www.fhfa.gov/Default.aspx?Page=251

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