NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates jumped nearly one-half percentage point in the past week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate reaching the highest point in nearly two years at 4.61 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 soared to 3.73 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate is at a 14-month high of 4.75 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages moved higher also. The popular 5-year adjustable rate climbed to 3.45 percent, the highest in more than two years, while the 10-year adjustable hit 4 percent for the first time since August 2011.
Mortgage rates posted the biggest one week increase since the 2008 failure of Lehman Brothers that pushed the global financial system to the brink. This week, the catalyst was something far more benign. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that continued improvement in the economy could prompt the Fed to begin dialing back their bond-buying stimulus later this year.
As recently as May 1st, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.52 percent. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $900.32. With the average rate currently at 4.61 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,026.48, a difference of $126 per month for anyone that waited just a little too long.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.61% -- up from 4.12% last week (avg. points: 0.29)
15-year fixed: 3.73% -- up from 3.30% last week (avg. points: 0.25)
5/1 ARM: 3.45% -- up from 2.99% last week (avg. points: 0.30)
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. Half of respondents expect rates to stabilize, remaining more or less unchanged over the next week, with 30 percent forecasting a pullback in rates. Just 20 percent forecast continued increases in the coming week.