STEVE INSKEEP, Host: NPR's Adam Davidson looks at why that's happening.</s>ADAM DAVIDSON: Everything worked like it should in January. Just as the economy started to slow, banks offered long term fixed mortgages at lower rates. This makes sense. With a slow economy fewer people can buy houses, so banks have to entice them with better mortgage terms. When the Fed cuts its rates banks can borrow money cheaper, so they lend to homeowners at lower rates.</s>B: Adam Davidson, NPR News.
With the economy slowing and the Federal Reserve Board cutting interest rates, mortgage rates were expected to come down a bit. That's not what's happened, though. Mortgage rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans have actually gone up over the last week.