HSH.com Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar: Mortgage Rates Continue Upward Creep
Foster City, Calif. (PRWEB) November 05, 2014 -- Rates on the most popular types of mortgages spent a second week in an upward drift, according to HSH.com's Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose by five basis points (0.05 percent) to 4.09 percent. Conforming 5/1 Hybrid ARM rates increased by six basis points, closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at an average of 3.11 percent.
"The darker economic clouds so evident last month have passed, at least for the moment, leaving brighter skies," said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. "It's still the case that markets remain wary, but with growth perhaps becoming more reliable in the U.S. despite global troubles, mortgage and other interest rates have found a little space to firm in the last couple of weeks."
Although the Federal Reserve has completed the process of accumulating mortgage and Treasury bonds for its portfolio, they have not abandoned policies intended to keep long-term rates low. For a while longer, the Fed intends to use inbound funds from maturing Treasury and mortgage bonds to purchase more of the same, a kind of money recycling, which should keep their investment portfolio at a fixed level and help keep mortgage and long-term interest rates low. This is expected to continue until the Fed begins raising short-term interest rates at some point in 2015.
"Headlines may say that the Fed has ended QE support, but that's not quite true," adds Gumbinger. "For the next few months, at least, the Fed will continue to be active in the markets, and, given the recent flare in mortgage refinancing of late, may actually have more funds than expected to purchase new mortgage bonds, keeping rates lower than they would otherwise be, and for a longer period of time."
With the elections changing Congress to at least some degree, HSH.com takes a look this week at Five Housing Issues A New Congress Should Fix.
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the week ending November 4, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
-Average Rate: 4.09 percent
-Average Points: 0.15
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
-Average Rate: 3.11 percent
-Average Points: 0.09
Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the previous week ending October 28 were, according to HSH.com:
Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
-Average Rate: 4.04 percent
-Average Points: 0.15
Conforming 5/1-year adjustable-rate mortgage
-Average Rate: 3.05 percent
-Average Points: 0.11
Methodology
The Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar reports the average rates and points offered on conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and conforming 5/1 ARMs. The weekly mortgage rate survey covers a large sample of mortgage lenders and is conducted over a Wednesday-to-Tuesday cycle, with data released every Wednesday. HSH.com’s survey helps consumers find the best rates on home loans in changing market conditions. Unlike mortgage rate surveys that report average rates only, the Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar’s inclusion of both average rates and average points provides a more accurate view of mortgage terms currently offered by lenders.
Every week, HSH.com conducts a survey of mortgage rate data for a wide range of consumer mortgage products including ARMs, FHA-backed and jumbo mortgages, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit from hundreds of direct lenders in the U.S. For information on additional loan products, visit HSH.com.
About HSH.com
HSH.com is a trusted source of mortgage data, trends, news and analysis. Since 1979, HSH’s market research and commentary has helped homeowners, buyers and sellers make smart financial choices and save money on mortgage and home equity products. HSH.com, of Riverdale, N.J., is owned and operated by QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: QNST), one of the largest Internet marketing and media companies in the world. QuinStreet is committed to providing consumers and businesses with the information they need to research, find and select the products, services and brands that best meet their needs. The company is a leader in ethical marketing practices. For more information, please visit QuinStreet.com.
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Alex Bryant, HSH.com, http://www.hsh.com, +1 (212) 863-4753, [email protected]
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