Borrowers Are Staying Away From ARMs

Adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for only 12% of the mortgage market last year, a decrease from 23% in 2000, according to a Freddie Mac survey.

Last year’s share was the lowest since 1998, when adjustables accounted for 11% of the mortgage market, and the second-lowest on record.

The survey also found the interest rate spread between fixed-rate mortgages and first-year adjustable rates rose from 0.21 percentage points at the beginning of last year to 1.91 percentage points at the end of the year.

But most home buyers still opted for low fixed-rate mortgages, according to the survey.