Mortgage rates ease south on December jobs report

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — Mortgage rates slipped this week, but not by much.

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the average 30-year fixed rate loan at 5.06 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week’s 5.09 percent.  Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.96 percent. 

south florida mortgage surveyBankrate’s weekly survey found the 30-year at 5.23 percent, with 0.47 points, down from 5.26 percent a week ago.

“Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages eased a little further this week, while ARM rates were mixed,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.  “With fixed mortgage rates staying near a record low, many homeowners are taking the opportunity to refinance.  For instance, over the past three-and-a-half months, on average more than 75 percent of conventional mortgage applications were for refinance transactions, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

mortgage survey chartsBankrate attributed the drop to the disappointing December jobs report from the Department of Labor, which caused investors to move toward the safety of bonds. The average 30-year fixed rate is at the lowest level in the past month. A wider than normal spread between 30-year and 15-year mortgage rates makes the shorter loan appealing to homeowners capable of swinging the higher payments.

According to Freddie Mac’s survey, the 15-year mortgage averaged 4.45 percent, with an average of 0.6 point, down from 4.50 percent a week ago. Bankrate put it at 4.62 percent, with 0.42 point.

Mortgage rates don't appear to be headed much of anywhere, according to the experts that make up Bankrate’s weekly mortgage rate index. Forty-six percent of the panelists expect rates to remain more or less unchanged in the next 30 to 45 days. A bit more than one-third of the panelists, 36 percent, predict rates will rise and just 18 percent forecast further declines in rates during that period of time.

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