Mortgage Rates Tick Lower For The Week Ending July 3rd…
Home mortgage rates retreated lower with the 30-year fixed slipping to 5.7% from 5.8% the week prior. The average 15-year mortgage rate also fell, dipping to 5.07% from 5.16%.
Mortgage rates fell to month-ago levels as evidence mounts of continued economic weakness citing troubling recent data on unemployment, GDP & consumer spending.
Rates are likely to bob up and down as concerns alternate between economic weakness and future inflation. Spurts of volatility should be expected, especially given the uncertain economic and financial climate.
A related report this week said home prices fell 18.1% from a year earlier, but the change from March narrowed sharply in a possible sign that housing markets may be starting to turn.
Current rates remain much lower than last year's levels, when the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.53%.
At the current rate of 5.7%, the monthly payment on a $200,000 mortgage would be $1,160.80, or about $107 less than the monthly payment at last year's rate of 6.53%.
The average jumbo 30-year fixed rate ticked up to 6.67% from 6.96%. Loans are considered jumbo when they are too large to be purchased or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Adjustable-rate mortgages were mixed, with the average 1-year ARM ticking up to 5.17% and the 5-year ARM falling to 5.17% from 5.26%.