NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates were little changed, with benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching lower to 4.23 percent, still a 14-month low. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.27 discount and origination points according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate nosed higher to 3.38 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate held steady at 4.29 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were higher, with the 5-year ARM rebounding to 3.32 percent and the 7-year ARM rising to 3.51 percent.
The big event of the past week as far as interest rates are concerned was a widely anticipated speech from Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen. With Yellen not making any unexpected pronouncements, financial markets carried on as usual with the stock market going on to set new record highs and the bond market motoring along. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government debt and with Treasury yields staying low, mortgage rates remain at the lowest levels since June 2013. No obvious catalyst for big rate movements exists between now and the release of the August employment report on Sept. 5.
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 4.23 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $981.54, a savings of more than $54 per month for anyone that waited.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.23% -- down from 4.24% last week (avg. points: 0.27)
15-year fixed: 3.38% -- up from 3.37% last week (avg. points: 0.18)
5/1 ARM: 3.32% -- up from 3.28% last week (avg. points: 0.14)
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 majority of the panelists – 64 percent – expect mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged over the coming week. The remaining panelists are evenly split, with 18 percent forecasting an increase and 18 percent predicting a decline.