NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates were slightly lower this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate sliding to 4.27 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.26 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate inched downward to 3.39 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate pulled back to 4.35 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages moved lower, with the 5-year ARM slipping to 3.32 percent and the 10-year ARM stepping down to 3.81 percent.
Mortgage rates continue to hover in a very narrow range, fluctuating less than one-tenth of a percentage point since mid-May. While there is no obvious catalyst to jolt rates out of the summer lull seen in the past three months, the risk over the coming week would be two upcoming inflation releases. A scare from either the Producer Price Index or the Consumer Price Index could cause some volatility. But if the readings are benign, then mortgage rates could revisit their lows of the year seen in late May.
As 2013 came to a close, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 4.69 percent. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,036.07. Mortgage rates have moved lower thus far in 2014, and with the average rate now 4.27 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $986.22, a savings of nearly $50 per month for anyone that waited.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.27% -- down from 4.29% last week (avg. points: 0.26)
15-year fixed: 3.39% -- down from 3.40% last week (avg. points: 0.21)
5/1 ARM: 3.32% -- down from 3.34% last week (avg. points: 0.16)
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. According to the panelists, rates aren't headed much of anywhere. Nearly three-fourths of the panelists – 73 percent - expect mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged over the coming week. Just 20 percent predict a rebound in mortgage rates, and only 7 percent forecast a further decrease in mortgage rates over the next seven days.