Rates on the most popular types of mortgages moved in different directions, with a slight increase for fixed rates and a small decline for ARMs, according to HSH.com's Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose by two basis points (0.02 percent) to 4.24 percent. Conforming 5/1 Hybrid ARM rates decreased by four basis points (0.04 percent), closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at an average of 3.09 percent.
"Like the Fed, the markets are in a 'data dependent' mode," said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. "If the available data suggests the economy has warmed slightly, or cooled less than feared, mortgage and other interest rates could tend to firm a little."
At the close of its meeting last week, the Federal Reserve gave few new clues about its thinking, or any plans to begin to taper purchases of Mortgage-Backed Securities or Treasury bonds anytime soon. However, they did not specifically rule out the possibility of a move at the December meeting, saying only that any move would depend upon incoming data.
"Relative to where we are economically, the bar for making a change to policy still remains pretty high, and there aren't many signs as yet that the economy is throwing off the kind of heat which would cause the Fed to move," adds Gumbinger. "However, the December meeting is a long way off, there is a lot of data to be seen between now and then, and some of it seems fairly solid already."
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the week ending Nov. 5, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 4.24 percent
►Average points: 0.19
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 3.09 percent
►Average points: 0.11
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the previous week ending October 29 were, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
►Average Rate: 4.22 percent
►Average Points: 0.22
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
►Average Rate: 3.13 percent
►Average Points: 0.14
