NEW YORK, NY - After weeks of very little movement, mortgage rates were up slightly this week. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 4.25 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.31 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 3.45 percent, while the jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rebounded from last week's record low to settle at 4.62 percent. The average 3-year and 5-year adjustable mortgage rates increased for the second week in a row, rising to 3.31 percent and 3.09 percent, respectively.
Fixed mortgage rates increased for the first time in the New Year. Even a modest increase, from 4.18 percent to 4.25 percent on the 30-year fixed, was enough to reach a two-month high. But the Federal Reserve's pronouncement about keeping short-term interest rates on hold even longer than expected, until late 2014, is likely to unwind the modest increase of the past week. Mortgage rates have been remarkably static over much of the past three months, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate staying in a range of less than one-tenth of a percentage point.
The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was Nov. 2008. At the time, the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.33 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 4.25 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $983.88, a difference of $258 per month for anyone refinancing now.
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.
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. There is no clear consensus this week, with 44 percent of the panelists expecting rates to rise further, while 31 percent predict that mortgage rates will fall back. Just 25 percent forecast that mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged over the next seven days.
For the full mortgage Rate Trend Index, go to www.bankrate.com
Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, our flagship website, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including CreditCards.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, Nationwide Card Services, InsuranceQuotes.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, InsureMe, Bankrate.com.cn, CreditCards.ca, NetQuote, and CD.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of nearly 600 local markets in all 50 U.S. states, Bankrate generates over 172,000 distinct rate tables capturing on average over three million pieces of information daily. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 75 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 100 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe.