Tricor Mortgage Drops Fixed-Rate Loan to 5.99%

Tricor Mortgage Lending of Huntington Beach, in what is believed to be the first move below the 6% level in the region, has dropped its 15-year and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages to 5.99%, the company announced Tuesday.

The rate has generated about 2,000 inquiries per day, said Anthony Hsieh, Tricor’s chief executive officer. He estimated about 80% of his customers intend to refinance, and 20% want new home loans.

A daily survey of the top-volume lenders in Southern California showed the average 30-year fixed-mortgage rate at 6.19% in the region, down from 7.2% a year ago, said Earl Peattie, who compiles the survey for the Mortgage News Co.

Peattie expects other lenders to eventually follow. “I think it will happen,” he said, “but everybody is doing more business than they can handle right now. As business thins out a little bit, lenders may be more interested in competing in terms of rates.”