Rates on the most popular types of mortgages moved in opposite directions according to HSH.com's Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose by eleven basis points (0.11 percent) to 4.35 percent. Conforming 5/1 Hybrid ARM rates decreased by one basis point, closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at an average of 3.08 percent.
"Economic data is pushing the markets around, and the warmer feel from last week's data moved fixed mortgage rates noticeably higher," said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. "A relatively strong employment report plus upward revisions to hiring numbers for September and August suggest that the economy is holding its own. The current 2.8 percent rate for GDP growth in the third quarter was also unexpectedly strong. Other data suggest pretty good strength, too, and the stronger the economy is, the firmer mortgage rates may be."
Although still not the prevalent view among observers, the Federal Reserve might be considering starting to taper its purchases of mortgage and Treasury bonds in December. The Fed has taken pains to explain that the decision to do so would depend upon the state of the economy.
As far as the Fed decision goes, "It's still too soon to put December 'on the table'", adds Gumbinger. "However, since they didn't rule it out at the last meeting, there is a chance that they might move then. That said, there is a lot of data to come between now and the next meeting, and as we've not fully seen the effects of the 16-day government shutdown in the data as of yet, the next few weeks will be key."
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the week ending November 12, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 4.35 percent
►Average points: 0.24
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 3.08 percent
►Average points: 0.14
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the previous week ending November 05 were, 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
