*       Interest Rates down to 4.57% from 4.58% last week.

*       Refinance Loans were 78.7% of Loan Applications.

*       Average Interest Rate for 2009 was 5.04%.

*       Average Interest Rate for 2008 was 6.03%.

*       Average Interest Rate for 2007 was 6.34%.

This chart shows the change in weekly interest rates from January of 2008 forward based on the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey of approximately 125 lenders. Freddie Mac’s survey is viewed as the best indicator of interest rate trends.

About the “Primary Mortgage Market Survey(r) (PMMS(r)) Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey(r) (PMMS(r)) surveys lenders each week on the rates and points for their most popular 30-year fixed-rate, 15-year fixed-rate, 5/1 hybrid amortizing adjustable-rate, and 1-year amortizing adjustable-rate mortgage products. The survey is based on first-lien prime conventional conforming mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. In addition, the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) products are indexed to U.S. Treasury yields and lenders are asked for the both the initial coupon rate and points as well as the margin on the ARM products.

Currently, about 125 lenders are surveyed each week and the mix of lender types – thrifts, credit unions, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies – is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide.

The survey is collected from Monday through Wednesday and the results are posted on Thursdays.