NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates broke a five-week long streak of declines, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate increasing 4.48 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 notched higher to 3.53 percent, and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage stepped up to 4.5 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were mixed, with the average 3-year adjustable moving down to 3.31 percent, while the 5-year and 7-year each moved higher, to 3.32 percent and 3.61 percent, respectively. The 10-year ARM was unchanged, holding for a third consecutive week at 3.99 percent.
The nervousness in financial markets seen since the beginning of the year has subsided in recent days, aided in part by Janet Yellen's initial Congressional testimony. Economic uncertainty has also diminished in the wake of Yellen's soothing words, after a run of less-than-stellar releases that included last week's jobs report. As a result, mortgage rates reversed much of last week's decrease, but at this point still remain lower than any point seen in December or January.
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 4.48 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,011.00, a difference of $111 per month for anyone that waited too long.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.48% -- up from 4.43% last week (avg. points: 0.33)
15-year fixed: 3.53% -- up from 3.50% last week (avg. points: 0.21)
5/1 ARM: 3.32% -- up from 3.27% 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. Most panelists, 63 percent, expect a mortgage rates to rise further in the coming week, while one-in-four predict mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged. Just 12 percent forecast a decline in mortgage rates in the next week.