mortgage rates
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Why are fixed mortgage rates and adjustable rates different?
I just saw that a 30 year fixed mortgage is 6.07% and a 5/1 ARM is 5.91%. What are the reasons why these rates differ by nearly .2%?
The 30 year fixed will have the same interest rate (6.07%) for all thirty years of the mortgage. The 5/1 ARM will only have a fixed rate 5 years, and then will change (can go up) in the sixth year and every year after until thirty years. The first mortgage is riskier for the bank because they are guaranteeing the rate for all thirty years, so they charge you a higher rate of interest.
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