NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates posted modest movement this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching lower 4.56 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.33 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage dipped to 3.61 percent, and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage slipped to 4.63 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were higher, with the average 5-year ARM rising to 3.42 percent and the 7-year ARM climbing to 3.77 percent.
Mortgage rates were quiet this week, but the Fed may disturb the peace of borrowers when it meets next week. If the Fed continues to pull back their bond purchases throughout 2014, which is expected, a steady movement toward higher mortgage rates is likely to happen over the next several months.
On May 1, 2013, 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 4.56 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,020.51, a difference of $120 per month for anyone that waited too long.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.56% -- down from 4.57% last week (avg. points: 0.33)
15-year fixed: 3.61% -- down from 3.62% last week (avg. points: 0.23)
5/1 ARM: 3.42% -- down from 3.40% last week (avg. points: 0.26)
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. The majority of panelists, 62 percent, expect mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged, while the remaining 38 percent predict that rates will rise in the next week.