NEW YORK, NY - Fixed mortgage rates were little changed, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching up to 4.57 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.28 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage slipped to 3.61 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate retraced last week's move to settle at 4.73 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were up more forcefully, with the popular 5-year adjustable rate jumping to 3.61 percent and the 7-year ARM to 3.98 percent.
Mortgage rates have been range bound since late June, but where they move within that range is dependent on what the market thinks about when the Federal Reserve will begin tapering their bond purchases. Talk of a September tapering has kept mortgage rates in the upper half of that range in the past couple weeks.
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 4.57 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,021.71, a difference of $121 per month for anyone that waited too long.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.57% -- up from 4.56% last week (avg. points: 0.28)
15-year fixed: 3.61% -- down from 3.62% last week (avg. points: 0.21)
5/1 ARM: 3.61% -- up from 3.53% last week (avg. points: 0.20)
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. Two-thirds of respondents – 67 percent – expect mortgage rates to rise in the coming week, while 22 percent predict that mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged. Just 11 percent forecast a decline in mortgage rates in the next week.