Recession? What recession? As last week's unemployment report showed, the jobless rate in the U.S. of A. has risen to 5%, up from 4.7% in November— (not so) incidentally, the hike is the biggest we've suffered since the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. The resulting lack of "consumer confidence" if you will, pushed another set of rates— mortgage rates— down, too. Further than economists would like them to be: 30-year, fixed mortgage rates averaged 5.87% this week, the lowest in two years, down from 6.07% last week. Rates on fifteen and five-year mortgages, as well as one-year ARM's fell, too. Refinancing efforts on owners' parts, along with whatever economic enema the Prez cooks up in his kitchen sink might move things along. That's the hope, at least.
· Mortgage Rates Fall Below 6 Percent Mark [SF Gate]
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