NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates showed a minor increase this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate nosing higher to 4.27 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.30 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 3.42 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate held steady at 4.35 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were higher also, with the 5-year ARM inching up to 3.29 percent while the 7-year ARM increased to 3.59 percent.
Mortgage rates notched slightly higher this week, despite an employment report that was a bit of a letdown. Oftentimes, a disappointing jobs report pushes down both bond yields and mortgage rates. But the jobs report wasn't so disappointing as to deter the Federal Reserve from continuing to taper their bond purchases or alter their timetable for raising short-term interest rates. Both bond yields and mortgage rates were slightly higher in anticipation that the Fed will continue to hint at the eventuality of interest rates at next week's scheduled meeting. 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 4.27 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $986.22, a savings of more than $50 per month for anyone that waited.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.27% -- up from 4.24% last week (avg. points: 0.30)
15-year fixed: 3.42% -- up from 3.37% last week (avg. points: 0.18)
5/1 ARM: 3.29% -- up from 3.25% 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. The majority of this week's panelists believe that mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged. Just 14 percent forecast a decline in mortgage rates, while the remaining 29 percent expect mortgage rates to rise in the coming week.