NEW YORK, NY - This week brought yet another record low in mortgage rates, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate falling to 4.12 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.29 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage retreated to 3.34 percent, while the jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage slid to 4.55 percent. The average 5-year and 7-year adjustable mortgage rates dropped to 3.02 percent and 3.24 percent, respectively. All of these are record lows.
Home buyers and refinancers can thank Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve for this most recent drop in mortgage rates. The pledge to keep short-term interest rates on hold until late 2014 was the catalyst for this week's move and will also help keep a lid on mortgage rates for the foreseeable future.
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 4.12 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $968.72, a difference of $273 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. Just over half of the respondents, 56 percent, think rates will remain more or less unchanged at the record lows over the next week. One-in-four predict mortgage rates will rebound, and just 19 percent forecast further declines over the next seven days.
For the full mortgage Rate Trend Index, go to www.bankrate.com
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