NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates were up for a fourth consecutive week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 4.01 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.26 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage climbed to 3.22 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.09 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were mixed, with the 5-year ARM sliding to 3.17 percent while the 7-year ARM nosed higher to 3.40 percent.
This week's increase in mortgage rates puts the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage at the highest level since mid-December, having climbed from 3.79 percent to 4.01 percent in a three week span. However, this run-up in mortgage rates has been tame compared to the increase in benchmark Treasury yields, which have moved up by nearly twice as much during the same timeframe. This is due to more selling of government bonds than mortgage bonds and is evidence that the rise is not necessarily based on underlying economic fundamentals, but rather from traders unloading positions and perpetuating the increase. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.
Just three weeks ago, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.79 percent. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $930.78. With the average rate now at 4.01 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $955.98, a difference of $25 per month for any fence-sitters that waited too long.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.01% -- up from 3.99% last week (avg. points: 0.26)
15-year fixed: 3.22% -- up from 3.17% last week (avg. points: 0.15)
5/1 ARM: 3.17% -- down from 3.19% 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 10 top 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. A slight majority of panelists – 57 percent – expect mortgage rates to rise in the coming week, about double the 29 percent of respondents predicting a decline. Just 14 percent forecast that mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged over the coming week.