NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates were little changed once again this week, extending the recent trend. The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate nosed higher to 4.29 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.29 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate was unchanged at 3.40 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate also held steady at 4.39 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages moved lower, with the 5-year ARM sliding to 3.34 percent and the 10-year ARM retreating to 3.82 percent.
Mortgage rates continue to exemplify the 'dog days of summer.' Fixed mortgage rates, and to some extent adjustable mortgage rates, have shown little movement since mid-May. Even a bevy of economic releases and a Federal Reserve meeting in the preceding week did little to jolt interest rates to life, with good economic news counteracted by global tensions. As a result, both bond yields and mortgage rates have been held in check. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government debt.
As 2013 came to a close, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 4.69 percent. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,036.07. Mortgage rates have moved lower thus far in 2014, and with the average rate now 4.29 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $988.57, a savings of $48 per month for anyone that waited.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.29% -- up from 4.28% last week (avg. points: 0.29)
15-year fixed: 3.40% -- unchanged from last week (avg. points: 0.19)
5/1 ARM: 3.34% -- down from 3.38% last week (avg. points: 0.15)
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. According to the panelists, rates aren't headed much of anywhere. Nearly three-fourths of the panelists – 73 percent - expect mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged over the coming week. Just 18 percent predict mortgage rates will decline, and only 9 percent forecast an increase in mortgage rates over the next seven days.