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"Average mortgage rates were up for all loan products reported," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "However, for the first 11 weeks so far this year, the average 30-year fixed rate is still below 5.9 percent, and the average 30-year rate in January was the lowest since July 2005.

"The combination of lower house prices and lower mortgage rates contributed to a more affordable market for homebuyers.

Freddie Mac has just released the results of its 24th Annual adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) Survey.

The survey, a snapshot of the market taken during the week of December 17 to December 21 based on data from 112 ARM lenders, found that starting rates for ARMs had changed little since the 2006 survey even though the Federal Reserve had lowered its federal funds target a full point to 4.25 percent during that time period. In contrast, fully- indexed rates had fallen to their lowest levels in three years.

The survey also found that:

Mortgage interest rates took a jump upward during the week ended December 13 and December 14 according to information released by Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association respectively.

Mortgage applications activity was weak; the seasonally adjusted measure of volume was...

Several hours before President Bush announced the details of his administrations plans to assist homeowners who are facing foreclosure the Mortgage Bankers Association released its delinquency survey for the third quarter.

The survey showed that the number of loans in the foreclosure process and the number of loans entering that process were at the highest levels since MBA began keeping records 21 years ago.

MSNBC, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal were reporting early Friday that the United States Treasury is about to announce a plan to help some subprime borrowers save their homes from foreclosure.

The plan apparently involves an agreement between the Treasury and leaders of the mortgage industry to hold rates steady on many adjustable rate mortgages that....

Nationally the situation is not as dire as these figures would indicate. The figures are being driven by what is happening in a few large states and by adjustable rate mortgages, both prime and subprime.

"What continues to drive the national numbers, however, is what is happening in the states of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona. Were it not for the increases in foreclosure starts in those four states, we would have seen a nationwide drop in the rate of foreclosure filings...

According to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the previous week, long term interest rates were down for the third week in a row. However, the Weekly Mortgage Market Survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association reported quite the opposite results with rates up sharply from a week earlier.

"Long-term mortgage rates continued to move lower for a third consecutive week, in part reflecting a moderation in core inflation," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "In the statement accompanying their decision to leave the target federal funds rate unchanged, the Fed noted that..."