Mortgage rates moved up this week, with the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 4.77 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.41 discount and origination points. The average 15-year fixed mortgage inched higher to 4.23 percent, and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate rose to 5.5 percent. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) were in on the act also, with the average five-year ARM climbing to 4.12 percent and the average seven-year ARM increasing to 4.52 percent.
Upbeat corporate earnings and improving investor sentiment pushed mortgage rates slightly higher this week. This comes after a run of downbeat economic news and a prevailing fear that the economy was headed for a double-dip recession that had been driving mortgage rates lower as recently as one week ago. Further evidence of economic improvement and positive outlooks for the second half of 2010 will be necessary to drive mortgage higher, while any disappointing news will once again have investors stampeding into the safety of Treasury securities. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government debt. The lingering uncertainty about whether the economy gets better or worse from here will help keep rates at ultra-low levels, a boon to homebuyers and refinancers alike.
The last time mortgage rates were above six percent was November 2008. At that time, the average rate was 6.33 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 4.77 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,045.71, a savings of $196 per month for a homeowner refinancing now.
Survey results
►30-year fixed: 4.77 percent—up from 4.74 percent last week (avg. points: 0.41)
►15-year fixed: 4.23 percent—up from 4.22 percent last week (avg. points: 0.39)
►5/1 ARM: 4.12 percent—up from 4.06 percent last week (avg. points: 0.30)
Bankrate's national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets.
For a full analysis of this week's move in mortgage rates, click here.
The survey is complemented by Bankrate's weekly Rate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts which way the rates are headed over the next seven days. According to the panelists mortgage rates aren’t headed anywhere, with 55 percent forecasting that mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged. Forty percent expect mortgage rates to continue moving up and just 5 percent predict mortgage rates will fall in the next week.
►To see mortgage rates in your area, click here.
►For the full mortgage Rate Trend Index, click here.
For more information, visit www.bankrate.com.
