Mortgage Rates Flat- Average 30 Year at 4.95%

Average mortgage rates moved very little over the past week with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage moving down 2 basis points from 4.97% to 4.95%. The BestCashCow averages also dropped, with the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage moving from 5.015% to 4.964%.

Averages though won't get you a mortgage and I like to check and see what rate is actually available. Since I live in Massachusetts I checked Massachusetts mortgage rates. Below I compared the best rate I could find on a $200,000 30-year fixed rate mortgage with 0 points:

This Week Last Week

Rate: 4.750% 4.750%

Points: 0 0

Fees: $1,995 $1,995

AimLoan.com continues to offer the best 30-year fixed rate mortgage in Massachusetts according to the BestCashCow rate tables at 4.750%. It has remained at this rate for 6 out of the last 7 weeks. Despite all the talk of the Fed ending its program to lower mortgage rates, mortgage rates have shown any indication to date that the are moving up.

Other mortgage averages also showed little movement. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.32 percent, down from last week when it averaged 4.33 percent. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.05 versus last week's 4.11 percent. The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM dropped from 4.27% to 4.22%.

Here's what Freddie Mac had to say about the rate situation:

“During a light week of mixed economic reports, mortgage rates eased somewhat,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “Pending existing home sales fell 7.6 percent in January, well below the market consensus of a 1 percent gain. Meanwhile, the economy lost only 36,000 jobs in February, fewer than market forecasts, and the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent. In addition, revisions added a net 35,000 workers to January and December combined.”

Mortgage rates continue to move in a tight range. As the chart shows, they've gone mostly sidways since September of 2009. Many analysts are predicting rates will rise, but we have yet to see any indication of that.

Use the BestCashCow rate tables to find the best mortgage rates in your area.