AUGUSTA – The Maine State Housing Authority has reduced the interest rate on its popular first-time homebuyer program to 5.99 percent, according to MSHA Director Michael Finnegan.

Effective Feb. 1, the interest rate on the program is more than a half-point below the previous rate and the first time the note rate has been below 6 percent since April 2000. The annual percentage rate, which includes the cost of mortgage insurance, is 6.57 percent.

MSHA’s interest rate has been 6.55 percent (APR of 7.13 percent) since last spring.

Last year MSHA helped 1,771 Maine families purchase their first homes.