Tag Archives: Bankrate

Mortgage rate movement last week was "so slight it was almost nonexistent," according to data from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

The Federal Reserve's commitment to keep interest rates low until 2015 isn't doing much to persuade consumers to borrow.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) showed surprisingly little life this week following the better-than-expected jobs report for September. While rates did rise for the week ending October 11, most increases were mild. The 30-year fixed average posted the largest growth, rising to 3.39 percent (0.7 point) from 3.36 percent├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬Øa record low├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬Øthe week before. Bankrate's survey saw more dramatic increases, with the 30-year fixed hiking up seven basis points to 3.59 percent.

Homeowners and potential first-time buyers couldn't be tempted by record-low mortgage rates last week, according to the Mortech Inc. and Mortgage Daily's U.S. Mortgage Market Index.

For the second week in a row, mortgage rates hit new record lows, and for the first time since mid-October 2009, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate is lower than the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) rate. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at Freddie Mac, attributes the falling rates to "mortgage securities purchases by the Federal Reserve and indicators of a weakening economy," such as slow personal income growth in August and last quarter's downwardly revised Gross Domestic Product.

After a month of weekly increases, mortgage rates followed Treasury bond yields down this week. Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed averaged 3.59 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending August 30, down from 3.66 percent in the previous week├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós survey. The 15-year fixed also fell, dropping to 2.86 percent from 2.89 percent. In addition, both the 5-year and 1-year adjustable rate mortgage averages fell, declining to 2.78 percent and 2.63 percent, respectively.

Fixed mortgage rates continued their uphill climb following promising housing gains in July, but the upward trend might be short-lived. According to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.66 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending August 23, up from 3.62 percent the previous week. The 15-year FRM also slid up, averaging 2.89 percent (0.6 point). A week ago, the 15-year fixed averaged 2.88 percent. Meanwhile, the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.80 percent (0.6 point), up from 2.76 percent in the last survey.

Could mortgage rates be on their way back? That's what today's mortgage rates just may suggest. Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked up by a few basis points to arrive at 3.62 percent, up from 3.59 percent last week. The GSE also found interest rates for the 15-year home loan averaging 2.88 percent, with 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages crawling to 2.76 percent and 2.69 percent, respectively. Bankrate.com likewise saw upward-bound changes in mortgage rates this week.

Lingering worries about the European debt crisis continue to drive investors to U.S. government bonds, sending fixed mortgage rates down to another record low. According to Freddie Mac├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.49 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending July 26, down from 3.53 percent the previous week. At the same time in 2011, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.55 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages actually saw a small boost, with the 5-year ARM averaging 2.74 percent (0.6 point), an increase from 2.69 percent the previous week.

The third week of July brought news of more mortgage rate lows, according to Freddie Mac. The GSE found the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 3.53 percent (0.7 point), down from 3.56 percent from the past week and 4.52 percent from the year before. In all of 2012, the average 30-year home loan has only scaled to 4 percent or higher for one week. The average 15-year mortgage for the week was 2.83 percent (0.6 point), down from 2.86 percent the week before and 3.66 percent at the same time in 2011.