Mortgage rates almost stand stillINTEREST RATE ACTIVITY

Mortgage rates barely moved this week, taking a respite from the big swings of previous weeks.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 4 basis points, to 6.21 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.35 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 6.2 percent; four weeks ago, it was 6.29 percent.

The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 1 basis point, to 5.9 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 8 basis points, to 6.21 percent. The 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgage, for amounts greater than $417,000, rose 2 basis points, to 7.26 percent.

In the past month, rates had swung quite widely in Bankrate's survey, moving at least an eighth of a point each week. The lower volatility is a refreshing change for mortgage shoppers -- no matter how few.

This is a slow time of year for mortgage applications, and it's slower than usual this go-round. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications fell almost 20 percent last week, compared to the week before. Applications were actually up 1.7 percent compared with the same week last year, but there is anecdotal evidence that a lot of borrowers are filing multiple applications, skewing the MBA's numbers.

Old rule resurrected

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reminding lenders of a longstanding policy that might have been forgotten during the housing boom: In markets where house prices are declining, maximum loan-to-value ratios are reduced by 5 percent.

Here's an example of what that means: Under Fannie Mae guidelines, if you want to do a cash-out refinance, you're limited to borrowing up to 90 percent of the home's current value.