NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates increased for a fifth consecutive week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbing to 4.1 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.3 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 3.28 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate is now at 4.27 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages bounded higher also, with rates hitting the highest levels since last summer. The average 5-year adjustable rate is now 2.93 percent, a level last seen in August of last year, and the 10-year ARM is at 3.48 percent, the highest since June of last year.
Mortgage rates crossed the 4 percent mark for the first time in 13 months, reaching the highest level since April 2012. Mortgage rates have increased sharply and suddenly on concerns that the Federal Reserve will begin withdrawing the $85 billion of monthly bond-buying stimulus. But we're still in a slow growth economy, with high unemployment, and an active Fed, and any disappointing economic news will almost certainly bring mortgage rates lower.
The last time mortgage rates were above 5 percent was Apr. 2011. At the time, the average 30-year fixed rate was 5.07 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,082.22. With the average rate currently at 4.1 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $966.40, a difference of $116 per month for anyone refinancing now.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.10% -- up from 3.99% last week (avg. points: 0.3)
15-year fixed: 3.28% -- up from 3.21% last week (avg. points: 0.26)
5/1 ARM: 2.93% -- up from 2.81% last week (avg. points: 0.25)
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. Nearly half of respondents – 46 percent – expect mortgage rates to pull back, while 36 percent predict mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged over the next seven days. Just 18 percent forecast further increases in mortgage rates in the coming week.