Refinances Flock to Fixed-Rate Mortgages

" Of the prime, conforming adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) borrowers that refinanced in the fourth quarter of 2008, 97 percent refinanced into a new conforming fixed-rate mortgage (FRM), up from a revised 85 percent in the third quarter, according to data released Monday by Freddie Mac (FRE: 0.5079 -2.33%). The quarterly refinance report, which looks at a sample of properties on which Freddie has funded at least two successive loans, also found that 99.7 percent of borrowers who had a FRM refinanced into another long-term FRM, up from a revised 97 percent in the third quarter."