NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates were up modestly, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate increasing to 4.48 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.3 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 3.54 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 4.47 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were higher as well, with the 5-year ARM reverting to 3.34 percent and the 10-year rising to 3.89 percent.
The economy has started to shake off the brutal winter that held back the pace of recovery, but Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments about inflation remaining too low is helping to keep a lid on bond yields and mortgage rates. 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. Less than a year later, with the average rate 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.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.48% -- up from 4.43% last week (avg. points: 0.3)
15-year fixed: 3.54% -- up from 3.48% last week (avg. points: 0.18)
5/1 ARM: 3.34% -- up from 3.32% 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. This week, half of the panelists expect mortgage rates to rise. The other half are evenly divided, with 25 percent predicting a decline in mortgage rates and 25 percent forecasting that mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged in the coming week.