
Mortgage rates ended 2009 above 5 percent, with Freddie Mac reporting 30-year fixed rates at an average 5.14 percent – still very affordable by historical standards. Although higher long-term borrowing costs late in the year could signal further increases for 2010, new data from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and the Mortgage Bankers Association indicates more borrowers are refinancing into 15-year loans in hopes of paying off home debt faster. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, 15-year fixed loans accounted for nearly 20 percent of refinance applications in October 2009 — up from 9.1 percent in October 2008 and 7.5 percent in October 2007.
[SOURCES: Freddie Mac; Information, Inc.]






