Rates on the most popular types of mortgages ticked slightly upward, according to HSH.com's Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose by a single basis point (0.01 percent) to 4.21 percent. Conforming 5/1 Hybrid ARM rates increased by two basis points, closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at an average of 3.15 percent.
"Mortgage rates continue to hang around low levels, but for every bright spot of economic news, there seems to be a countervailing force on rates, keeping them down" said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. "Better news on jobs, housing, and a recent pattern of solid growth are being offset by troubles in the middle east and the Ukraine, giving investors ample reason to stash cash in the safety of U.S. markets."
Major stock markets continue to flirt with record high levels, and U.S.-backed bonds and mortgage debt continue to find willing buyers, even at today's relatively low yields. In more normal times of ongoing stock rallies it is more common to see money move out of bonds and into stocks, lifting bond yields and mortgage rates, even as it buoys stock markets further.
"At some point, mortgage rates will again be moved upward by the more traditional influences of growth and inflation, but for the moment, they are being kept low by many other forces," adds Gumbinger. "Bad news continues to be a friend of the mortgage shopper, and if any kind of ‘correction’ should happen in sky-high stock markets, rates would even have some space to fall from these already low levels."
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the week ending July 22, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 4.21 percent
►Average points: 0.19
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
►Average rate: 3.15 percent
►Average points: 0.10
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the previous week ending July 15 were, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
►Average Rate: 4.20 percent
►Average Points: 0.17
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
►Average Rate: 3.13 percent
►Average Points: 0.07
