Rates on the most popular types of mortgages edged slightly downward according to HSH.com's Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by one basis point (0.01 percent) to 4.19 percent. Conforming 5/1 Hybrid ARM rates also decreased by one basis points, closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at an average of 3.07 percent.
"A slow week for new economic data and the Memorial Day holiday kept rates from moving much this week," said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. "No new concerns came to light, the available information continues to point to a moderate growth pattern and the Federal Reserve remains on course, so we appear to have stabilized for the moment."
The Federal Reserve continues on a path of gradually removing the extraordinary stimulus known as Quantitative Easing (QE), but has increasingly been discussing what comes after that, and how quickly.
At present, it appears that any change to interest rates might appear in mid-2015 at the earliest, provided the economy continues to grow slowly and without inflation.
"QE is slowly fading, but it would seem that the markets are having no significant problem adjusting to its lessening effects," said Gumbinger. "For the moment, things are quiet, but we'll need to see if this remains the case as we move forward, especially if we start to see a pickup in growth or inflation, as either would begin to inject more volatility into interest rates. For now, favorable conditions prevail."
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the week ending May 27, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 4.19 percent
►Average points: 0.17
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 3.07 percent
►Average points: 0.08
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the previous week ending May 20 were, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 4.20 percent
►Average points: 0.21
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 3.08 percent
►Average points: 0.11
