Mortgage Rates Fall for the First Time in 3 Weeks According to Bankrate.com Weekly National Survey

NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates erased the increases seen over the past two weeks, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate retreating to 4.47 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.33 discount and origination points.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 3.52 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 4.48 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages posted mixed results, with the 3-year ARM rising to 3.33 percent; the 5-year holding at 3.34 percent; and the 7-year and 10-year falling to 3.58 percent and 3.90 percent, respectively.

Any time there is stock market volatility and investors get nervous, that tends to be good news for mortgage rates. As investors gravitate to bonds of various types, including those backed by mortgages, it helps bring the rates that are quoted to mortgage borrowers lower. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.

On May 1, 2013, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.52 percent. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $900.32. Less than a year later, with the average rate at 4.47 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,009.81, a difference of $109 per month for anyone that waited.

SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.47% -- down from 4.54% last week (avg. points: 0.33)
15-year fixed: 3.52% -- down from 3.58% last week (avg. points: 0.21)
5/1 ARM: 3.34% -- unchanged from last week (avg. points: 0.21)

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, go to www.bankrate.com

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. The panelists are divided, with 38 percent expecting mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged in the coming week, and an equal 38 percent predicting rates to fall further. The remaining 24 percent forecast an increase in mortgage rates in the next week.