Mortgage rates continue hold near record lows

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — Mortgage rates changed little this week, slipping slightly higher in the Bankrate.com survey but holding steady according to Freddie Mac.

Bankrate put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 4.77 percent, with 0.41 point, up from 4.74 point a week earlier.

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey spotted the 30-year at 4.57 percent with an average 0.7 point, unchanged from last week. That’s the lowest the 30-year has ever been in the 39 years Freddie Mac has conducted its survey.

Bankrate cited upbeat corporate earnings and improving investor sentiment over the past week and a half for pushing rates slightly higher.  This comes after a run of downbeat economic news and fear of a double-dip recession pushed rates to record lows as investors rushed out of stocks to the relative safety of Treasury bonds and bills.

However, mortgage rates are likely to stay low unless there is more evidence of economic improvement, Bankrate said. Any disappointing news once again will have investors stampeding out of stocks and back to Treasuries depressing mortgage rates once more.

Said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft: "Fixed-rate mortgages continued to hover at 50-year lows, thereby supporting homebuyer affordability and refinance activity. Compared to the recent peak in 30-year fixed interest rates 13 months ago (week of June 11, 2009), current rates are a full percentage point lower. With today's rates, homebuyers would save about $1,500 in payments each year on a $200,000 loan compared to rates last June.

Also from the Bankrate survey: the 15-year  mortgage inched higher to 4.23 percent with 0.39 point, from 4.22 percent a week earlier. The 5-year ARM climbed to 4.12 percent with 0.30 point from 4.06 percent a week ago.  

Also from the Freddie Mac survey:  the 15-year  this week averaged 4.06 percent with 0.7 point, down from last week’s  4.07 percent. The 5-year ARM averaged 3.85 percent this week, with 0.7 point, up from last week’s 3.75 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.83 percent.