NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates moved lower for a fifth consecutive week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate now 4.03 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 3.28 percent while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage held steady at 4.12 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages moved higher, with the 5-year ARM rising to 3.26 percent and the 10-year ARM bouncing back to 3.83 percent.
The monthly employment report came in much stronger than expected, news that would normally drive mortgage rates higher in a big way. But instead, we saw mortgage rates pull back for a fifth consecutive week as the strength of the U.S. economy, as exhibited in the employment report, continues to be overshadowed by concerns elsewhere in the global economy. Those worries, coupled with even lower bond yields overseas, enhance the relative attractiveness of U.S. government debt. 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. Nearly one year later, with the average rate now 4.03 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $958.29, a savings of approximately $78 per month for anyone that waited.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.03% -- down from 4.07% last week (avg. points: 0.28)
15-year fixed: 3.28% -- down from 3.29% last week (avg. points: 0.17)
5/1 ARM: 3.26% -- up from 3.20% last week (avg. points: 0.20)
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. There isn't a clear-cut consensus from this week's panel, with 46 percent forecasting a rebound in mortgage rates and 36 percent expecting mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged. Just 18 percent of the panelists predict further declines in mortgage rates over the coming week.