Mortgage Rates Post a Minor Decline

NEW YORK, July 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Mortgage rates posted only slight movement over the past week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate slipping to 4.54 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.33 discount and origination points.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.61 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined to 4.69 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were mixed. The popular 5-year adjustable rate retreated for the second consecutive week, to 3.54 percent. The 7-year and 10-year adjustable rate mortgages both notched higher, to 3.9 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.

Mortgage rates settled down over the past week, following two months of volatility. The tame movement in mortgage rates may prove to be only a brief reprieve however. With next week bringing a Federal Open Market Committee meeting and a new report on the job market, this week may have been the calm before the storm.

As recently as May 1 ^st, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.52 percent. At that time, a$200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $900.32. With the average rate currently at 4.54 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,018.13, a difference of $118 per month for anyone that waited just a little too long.

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 4.54% — down from 4.56% last week (avg. points: 0.33)

15-year fixed: 3.61% — down from 3.65% last week (avg. points: 0.26)

5/1 ARM: 3.54% — down from 3.56% last week (avg. points: 0.29)

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.