The Easter weekend was good to mortgage rates across the U.S. Today's decline was a bit more modest than homebuyers enjoyed last week, but rates are still heading in the right direction: down. Most rates dropped about 0.02%, except for the 15-year fixed rate, which sank to 3.05% from last Thursday's 3.08%.
The only rate that inched up a bit was the 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), which jumped 0.04% to 3.16%. (The 5/1 ARM offers a fixed rate for five years, then adjusts based on the prevailing rates after the fixed period.)
Here are today's average mortgage rates across the U.S., along with where they stood a month ago.
|
Mortgage Type |
Mortgage Rates Today |
Mortgage Rates 1 month ago |
|---|---|---|
|
30-year fixed jumbo |
4.38% |
4.72% |
|
30-year fixed |
3.87% |
4.19% |
|
15-year fixed |
3.05% |
3.33% |
|
30-year fixed refinance |
3.87% |
4.20% |
|
15-year fixed refinance |
3.06% |
3.41% |
|
5/1 ARM |
3.16% |
3.29% |
|
5/1 ARM refinance |
3.29% |
3.39% |
Data source: Bloomberg. National average rates which may include points.
As attractive as today's mortgage rates are, believe it or not, homebuyers enjoyed even less expensive loans just five years ago. For some perspective, here are a few of the rates as of April 2012.
|
Mortgage Type |
Mortgage Rates April 2012 |
|---|---|
|
30-year fixed |
3.91% |
|
15-year fixed |
3.14% |
|
1-year ARM |
2.78% |
|
5/1-year ARM |
2.84% |
Data source: Freddie Mac. Rates do not include points.
For current homeowners researching a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or equity loan, there's not much change in either rate today. HELOC rates creeped up to 5.26%, while equity loan rates stood pat at 5.30%. Both equity loans are still above March's respective rates of 5.16% and 5.22%.
