30-year rates rise to 5%, following bond market
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Rates for 30-year home loans have inched up, hitting 5 percent for the first time in nearly a month after bond yields increased.
The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 5 percent this week, up from 4.92 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday. It was the highest average since the week of Sept. 24, when rates averaged 5.04 percent.
While above the record low of 4.78 percent hit in the spring, rates are still attractive for people looking to buy a home or refinance.
The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.43 percent from 4.37 percent, according to Freddie Mac.
Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.40 percent, up from 4.38 percent. Rates on one-year adjustables fell to 4.54 percent from 4.60 percent.
Borrowers can lower their rates by buying points, equal to 1 percent of the loan amount. The averages in the survey were 0.7 points for 30-year loans and 0.6 points for 15-year, five-year and one-year loans.
Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates every Monday through Wednesday. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a day, often in line with long-term Treasury bonds.
Mortgage applications fell 7.6 percent in the week ended Oct. 16 and refinancings decreased 17 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Housing starts rose 0.5 percent, to an annual rate of 590,000, in August. That was lower than previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed yesterday.
To prop up the housing market and help the economy recover, the Federal Reserve has been engaged in an extraordinary level of support.
Last month, Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues agreed to slow down the pace of the program to buy mortgage securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Instead of wrapping up the purchases by the end of this year, the Fed now plans to do so by the end of March.
Despite the government's effort to support the housing market, qualifying for a loan is still tough. Lenders have tightened their standards dramatically, so the best rates are available to those with solid credit and a 20 percent down payment.
