Mortgage Rates Are Not As Low As Newspapers Are Reporting

Thursday, Freddie Mac published its weekly mortgage market survey. The report showed mortgage rates sub-5 percent, trolling near all-time lows. Versus October 2008, 30-year fixed mortgages are down 1.07%. The press was eager to report this story -- mostly because anytime mortgage rates below 5.000 percent, it makes for good copy. But, for rate shoppers in Cincinnati and Chicago, by the time Friday's business section was delivered, the Freddie Mac survey was already out-of-date.