NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates continue to pull back, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate slumping to 4.43 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.35 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.5 percent, and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage slid to 4.47 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were mostly lower also, with the average 5-year ARM dropping to 3.27 percent and the 7-year ARM dipping to 3.58 percent.
Worries about a slowdown in the U.S. and global economies and continued skittishness about the health of emerging markets is pushing investors into safe haven U.S. Treasury securities. This has brought the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield from 3 percent down into the 2.6 percent neighborhood, with mortgage rates hitting levels last seen just before Thanksgiving. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.
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 4.43 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,005.07, a difference of $105 per month for anyone that waited too long.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.43% -- down from 4.50% last week (avg. points: 0.35)
15-year fixed: 3.50% -- down from 3.56% last week (avg. points: 0.21)
5/1 ARM: 3.27% -- down from 3.37% last week (avg. points: 0.24)
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 the panelists expect a rebound in mortgage rates, while one-in-three predict mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged. Just 17 percent forecast further declines in mortgage rates in the next week.