NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates were little changed, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate nosing higher to 4.24 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.28 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate inched lower to 3.37 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate held steady at 4.29 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were mixed, with the 5-year ARM sliding to 3.25 percent while the 7-year ARM increased to 3.52 percent.
Movements in mortgage rates have been very tame all summer, with rates fluctuating within a band of just one-eighth of a percentage point since mid-May. But at some point, that will come to an end. If we get another upbeat jobs report this week, the bond market could begin to realize that higher interest rates are an eventuality, leading mortgage rates higher. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.
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 4.24 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $982.71, a savings of more than $53 per month for anyone that waited.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.24% -- up from 4.23% last week (avg. points: 0.28)
15-year fixed: 3.37% -- down from 3.38% last week (avg. points: 0.19)
5/1 ARM: 3.25% -- down from 3.32% last week (avg. points: 0.16)
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. One thing is clear according to this week's panelists – rates won't be moving lower in the next week, as just 8 percent forecast a decline in mortgage rates. The remainder are evenly split, with 46 percent predicting an increase in mortgage rates and an equal 46 percent expecting mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged in the coming week.