RISMEDIA, April 11, 2011—Mortgage rates continued to rise this week, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 5.08 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.41 discount and origination points.
To see mortgage rates in your area, go to http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/mortgages/.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage inched to 4.27 percent, and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate moved up to 5.57 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were slightly lower this week with the average 5-year ARM slipping to 3.87 percent and the 7-year ARM dropping to 4.21 percent.
Mortgage rates moved higher, but not very much, as investors looked past global concerns and took in a better-than-expected jobs report. The employment news validated other improving economic data and interest rates moved higher in response. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds. Even though mortgage rates have increased in each of the past three weeks, they’ve remained in a narrow range since late February, owing to a tug-of-war between better economic news and worries about rising oil prices and overseas events that could upend the economic recovery.
The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was Nov. 2008. At the time, the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.33 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 5.08 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,083.44, a difference of $158 per month for anyone refinancing now.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 5.08% — up from 5.01% last week (avg. points: 0.41)
15-year fixed: 4.27% — up from 4.25% last week (avg. points: 0.43)
5/1 ARM: 3.87% — down from 3.89% last week (avg. points: 0.42)
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 http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/mortgages-follow-food-and-gas-prices-up.aspx?ic_id=tsLgpic1
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, 56 percent, predict rates to increase further. Of the remaining panelists, 38 percent think that rates will remain more or less unchanged and the remaining 6 percent forecast a decline in mortgage rates over the next seven days.
For the full mortgage Rate Trend Index, go to http://www.bankrate.com/RTI.
