Interest rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell just below the 5 percent threshold this week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey, as Treasury yields declined. The week that ended yesterday marked the third in a row that mortgage rates fell, with the 30-year loan averaging 4.99 percent, down from 5.06 percent the week earlier and 5.12 percent in the year-ago period. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.4 percent, a slight drop from last week’s 4.45 percent average and last year’s 4.8 percent average. The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage were also down to 4.27 percent, on average, down from 4.32 percent last week and 5.24 percent last year. “The federal funds futures market indicates no increase in the Federal Reserve’s target rate following its upcoming committee meeting,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s vice president and chief economist. TRD

Mortgage interest rates are expected to remain steady following the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee meeting today, but there is a growing concern among policymakers about how long the rates should continue at their artificial lows. Last month, the Fed decided to extend the program currently keeping commercial banks’ prime lending rate at a decades-low 3.25 percent in order to give the economy time to recover. Economists predict that because inflation is still low, the Fed won’t yet veer off that course. [Florida Today]