Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Average 30-year fixed mortgage dips to 4.3%

My website: www.sandralew.com

Mortgage rates dipped back down for now due to fewer mortgage and refinancing applications. With rates remaining historically low this provides a boost to the housing market to further rebound.


Average 3-year fixed mortgage dips to 4.3%

Ben Mitchell, USA Today 10:20 a.m. EDT July 3, 2013

Average fixed-rate mortgages nationwide fell the week ended July 3 as home buying and refinancing demand slumped and a recent spike in market rates subsided.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage nationwide dipped to 4.29% after hitting a two-year high of 4.46% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of USA lenders.

The week ended June 27, average 30-year fixed mortgages jumped from just below 4% to nearly 4.5%, the biggest one-week jump since 1987, home loan Freddie Mac said.

Driving mortgage rates lower: Mortgage applications slumped 11.7% the week ended July 3, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association survey of lenders. And refinancing applications sank 16% week over week, hitting the lowest level since July 2011.

"At these rates, many fewer homeowners have an incentive to refinance, and refinance application volume declined more than 15%," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.

Still, mortgage rates remain low by historical standards. And if the one-week dip continues, a rebound in the housing market, which has been crucial to improving economic growth this year, could get a boost.

Mortgage rates will also be helped if a market rates, which subsided this week after spiking the final two weeks of June, hold steady or continue falling. The bellwether 10-year Treasury note yield was trading at 2.47% Wednesday after hitting a 22-month high of 2.66% in late June.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.39% from 3.5% a week ago. The same week a year ago, the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.62% and the 15-year fixed mortgage was 2.89%

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2013/07/03/mortgage-rates-7-3/2485835/

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