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Freddie Mac Reports Drop in Housing Interest Rate

June 6, 2011

Freddie Mac reports a drop in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.55 percent in the week ended June 2 from 4.60 percent the previous week, marking the lowest level of the year. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), known as Freddie Mac, is a public government sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered Fairfax County, Virginia. The FHLMC was created in 1970 to expand the secondary market for mortgages in the US. Freddie Mac buys mortgages on the secondary market, pools them, and sells them as a mortgage-backed security to investors on the open market. This secondary mortgage market increases the supply of money available for mortgage lending and increases the money available for new home purchases. The name, "Freddie Mac", is an acronym of the company's full name. Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft attributes the decline to reports indicating a significant decline in first-quarter home prices and a possible slowdown in economic growth. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate slipped to 3.74 percent from 3.78 percent, the five-year ARM stayed at 3.41 percent, and the one-year ARM edged up to 3.13 percent from 3.11 percent; all mortgage rates are down from a year ago.