Contact Palm Beach Business.com by phone: 561 450-8258. By email.

Mortgage rates hover at or near record lows

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — Mortgage mavens Freddie Mac and Bankrate disagree about whether rates moved up or down this week, but they do agree about one thing: they moved little and still represent a very good deal for borrowers.

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey found the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 3.90 percent with 0.8 point, up from last week’s 3.88 percent. Bankrate, on the other hand, found the 30-year dropping to a record low of 4.10 with 0.42 point from last week’s 4.11 percent.

"Fixed mortgage rates held relatively stable this week amid signs that inflation remains in check,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said. “Industrial production was flat in March, a reading below the market consensus forecast. Meanwhile, both headline inflation gauges (the consumer and producer price indexes) for March were in line with market expectations."

Bankrate, however, cited continued concerns over the European and Chinese economies, plus the sustainability of corporate earnings as reasons why rates dipped. Investors typically move into U.S. Treasurys as a safe harbor in times of economic uncertainty, and that drives down mortgage rates.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage moved slightly higher in the Freddie Mac survey, to 3.13 percent with 0.7 point, from 3.11 percent a week ago. Bankrate found the average 15-year flat at 3.32 percent with 0.40 point.