NEW YORK, NY - Mortgage rates were slightly higher this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching upward to 4.10 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.24 discount and origination points.
The larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate dropped even further below the conforming 30-year fixed mortgage, resetting a three-month low of 4.02 percent. The average 15-year fixed mortgage ticked higher to 3.28 percent. Adjustable mortgage rates were mixed, with the 3-year ARM sliding to 3.25 percent and the 5-year ARM stepping up to 3.24 percent.
Mortgage rates were little changed on a week-over-week basis but they yo-yoed up and down during the days in between. Disappointing economic reports on consumer spending and construction spending were offset by a stellar report on the services sector. But the jawboning from members of the Federal Open Market Committee has begun, with both Dennis Lockhart and James Bullard supporting the notion of a September interest rate hike. Yields on long-term government bonds moved only slightly as the expectation is for a gradual pace of movement once the Federal Reserve begins to raise interest rates. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.
In mid-April, mortgage rates were at the lowest point in nearly two years when 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 4.10 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $966.40, a difference of $35 per month for anyone that sat on the fence for too long.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 4.10% -- up from 4.09% last week (avg. points: 0.24)
15-year fixed: 3.28% -- up from 3.27% last week (avg. points: 0.16)
5/1 ARM: 3.24% -- up from 3.22% last week (avg. points: 0.19)
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. More than half of the panelists – 55 percent -- expect mortgage rates to move higher in the coming week, while 36 percent predict mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged. Just 9 percent forecast a decline in mortgage rates in the coming week.