| North Palm Beach, Fla. -- Nov. 27, 2009 (Bankrate.com) -- Average rates on 10/1 ARMs in the United States fell 1 basis point to 4.87 percent on Friday, according to Bankrate.com's daily Your Best Interest report. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percent. The mortgages in the survey had an average of 0.65 discount and origination points.
A 10/1 ARM is an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, that has an initial interest rate for the first 10 years, and thereafter has an adjustment interval of one year. Each annual rate adjustment is based on (or "indexed to") another rate -- often the yield on a Treasury note. Someone taking out a $165,000.00 10/1 ARM at the current average would pay $872.69 a month for the first 10 years of the loan. The rate would change annually thereafter. Nationally, the highest rate on a 10/1 ARM was 10.000 percent. The lowest rate was 3.875 percent. Six months ago, the average rate in the U.S. was 5.38 percent. To see all of the results of Bankrate.com's surveys, go to www.bankrate.com. The Your Best Interest report is a daily service of Bankrate.com, a financial news and information service based in North Palm Beach, Fla. Bankrate surveys more than 300 financial products from more than 4,800 institutions in all 50 states. | 
