Fed rate cut sparks a rush of refinancing

updated 8:59 p.m. ET Dec. 17, 2008

WASHINGTON - Homeowners across the United States on Wednesday took advantage of the Federal Reserve's extraordinary decision to lower interest rates, refinancing their homes to lower their monthly mortgage payments amid an economic downturn.

Mortgage brokers reported a surge of calls from borrowers seeking to take advantage of the Tuesday decision to cut the federal funds rate from 1 percent to a target range of zero to 0.25 percent and pledged to keep funneling money into the market for mortgage investments.

Some brokers were quoting mortgage rates of close to 4.5 percent for people with strong credit and hefty down payments.

The national average rate on 30-year, fixed mortgages was 5.06 percent on Wednesday, according to financial publisher HSH Associates — the lowest since the 1960s and down from 5.3 percent Tuesday.

"This is beautiful, oh my gosh!" said Patti Mazzara, a mortgage broker in Minnesota, who was surprised when she looked up rates and found them well below 5 percent, down at least three-quarters of a percentage point from earlier in the week. "This is a whole new game now. Hopefully it's going to give people some relief."

It was the best news in months for anyone looking to lock in a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. But it was not expected to be a cure-all, and borrowers already in danger of foreclosure probably won't be able to take advantage.

"It's a call to action for homeowners looking to get out of adjustable-rate mortgages," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. "Unfortunately, it's not an equal-opportunity party."

Even Wall Street, which pushed the Dow industrials up 360 points after the Fed announcement Tuesday, tempered its enthusiasm on Wednesday. The Dow finished down about 100 points.

An estimated 12 million Americans owe more on their home loans than their houses' current value, unemployment is still rising quickly, and foreclosures are soaring.

For people whose home values have plunged, "I could have a 1 percent interest rate, but it wouldn't help them," said Michael Maynard, a mortgage broker in Connecticut.

"People losing their homes aren't losing their homes because they can't get a 6 percent mortgage," Maynard said. "They're not qualifying at all."

In Charlotte, Jabon's mortgage broker, Will Mullinix, said that while rates that low are "pretty unprecedented," the best deals are available only to borrowers with pristine credit who are taking out loans for under 80 percent of their house's current value.

"All the stars have to align," Mullinix said.

And economists expect falling rates to provide only a modest boost to home sales, especially as unemployment worsens amid what could be the longest economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

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