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Bargain-Basement Mortgage Rates
Aired June 18, 2003 - 14:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Our homes may be our castles, but we all want bargain-basement mortgages. Re-fi's are through the roof, as rates sink lower and lower, and now under 5 percent for 30 year notes.
CNN financial correspondent Ali Velshi is following the borrowing in Chicago.
What do you know?
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, thanks.
This is a very interesting time for us, because we're looking at mortgage rates, the average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan across the country now at 4.99 percent. That is the lowest it's ever been since the Mortgage Bankers Association has been following these numbers since 1990. Until now, the lowest rate was 5.06 percent.
Now, don't get too attached to that 4.99 number. There are places in the country, where you've been able to get rates as low as 4.2 percent, and in some parts of the country you are still paying as high as 7 percent. But psychologically, this is driving consumers.
We tend to talk about mortgages so much that we have the impression they have been low for the last little while. But go back just to June of 2000 the year 2000. Let's take a look at what it would have cost you on average to finance a house on a 30-year fixed loan. The rate back then was 8.29 percent. One year later in June of 2001, 7.16 was the number. And in June of 2002, which is just a year ago, 6.65 percent.
Now, this trend downwards, to 4.99 percent now, indicates to a lot of people who are buying that they might not need to lock in because rates might continue to go lower. I spoke to David Lorac (ph). He's the chief economist with the National Association of Realtors. He says that's not so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, and this is all personal, but I always lock in, when you can. If refinancing works for you, you lock in. You don't gamble on interest rates. Particularly now when we have 40 to 50-year lows in mortgage rates, why would you not lock in?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired June 18, 2003 - 14:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Our homes may be our castles, but we all want bargain-basement mortgages. Re-fi's are through the roof, as rates sink lower and lower, and now under 5 percent for 30 year notes.
CNN financial correspondent Ali Velshi is following the borrowing in Chicago.
What do you know?
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, thanks.
This is a very interesting time for us, because we're looking at mortgage rates, the average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan across the country now at 4.99 percent. That is the lowest it's ever been since the Mortgage Bankers Association has been following these numbers since 1990. Until now, the lowest rate was 5.06 percent.
Now, don't get too attached to that 4.99 number. There are places in the country, where you've been able to get rates as low as 4.2 percent, and in some parts of the country you are still paying as high as 7 percent. But psychologically, this is driving consumers.
We tend to talk about mortgages so much that we have the impression they have been low for the last little while. But go back just to June of 2000 the year 2000. Let's take a look at what it would have cost you on average to finance a house on a 30-year fixed loan. The rate back then was 8.29 percent. One year later in June of 2001, 7.16 was the number. And in June of 2002, which is just a year ago, 6.65 percent.
Now, this trend downwards, to 4.99 percent now, indicates to a lot of people who are buying that they might not need to lock in because rates might continue to go lower. I spoke to David Lorac (ph). He's the chief economist with the National Association of Realtors. He says that's not so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, and this is all personal, but I always lock in, when you can. If refinancing works for you, you lock in. You don't gamble on interest rates. Particularly now when we have 40 to 50-year lows in mortgage rates, why would you not lock in?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
