Legislators to protect consumers from Unfair Mortgage Deals

Preliminary estimations of December’s financial indicators show signs of steady growth in the economy; the final reports are expected next week. Mortgage rates have shown mixed activity, with the 30-year fixed rate rising since last week and one-year and hybrid ARMs declining. All rates are somewhat higher compared to last year’s indications, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reaching 6.25 – the highest level since November, vs. 6.12% this time last year, and five-year ARMs at 6.00 vs. 5.75 in January 2006. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage remains unchanged since last week at 5.98%.

The government report on the economy’s performance during the last 3 months of 2006 will be released next week and it shall point a direction for the interest rates activity.