IMAGE SOURCE: PIXABAY.
Mortgage rates rose on Wednesday: The average 30-year mortgage rate is 3.57%, which equates to a $452.96 monthly payment per $100,000 borrowed. A month ago, the equivalent payment would have been lower by $12.80.
If you were to opt for a shorter term, the average 15-year mortgage rate is 2.87%, which equates to a $684.35 monthly payment per $100,000 borrowed. A month ago, the equivalent payment would have been lower by $11.90.
|
Rate (national average) |
Today |
1 Month Ago |
|---|---|---|
|
30-yr fixed jumbo |
4.15% |
4.32% |
|
30-yr fixed |
3.57% |
3.34% |
|
15-yr fixed |
2.87% |
2.62% |
|
30-yr fixed refi |
3.60% |
3.39% |
|
15-yr fixed refi |
2.89% |
2.64% |
|
5/1 ARM |
3.03% |
2.88% |
|
5/1 ARM refi |
3.18% |
2.98% |
ARM = Adjustable-rate mortgage. Data source: Bloomberg.
Mortgage applications fell last week; rates at highest levels since June
The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, released on Wednesday morning, noted mortgage applications had fallen 1.2% during the week ending Oct. 28. The Market Composite Index, which tracks mortgage application volume, fell to its lowest level since May.
Other indicators are lower, too: The Purchase Index fell 0.4%, following a brutal 7% decline the previous week, while the Refinance Index was down 2%. Nevertheless, the Purchase Index is 9% ahead of its year-ago level. The refinance share of mortgage activity was 62.7%, unchanged on the previous week, and adjustable-rate mortgages were just 4.4% of total applications.
For conforming loans (balances of $417,000 or less), the average contract interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.75%, its highest level since June. Points, including the origination fee, decreased to 0.32% for mortgages with 80% loan-to-value ratio. The effective rate increased from the previous week.
The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgages also reached its highest level since June 2016, at 3.04% percent, with points increasing to 0.36%.
The millennials are coming!
On Monday, this column highlighted that the proportion of sales to first-time buyers rose to 35% in 2016, following three straight years of declines. Yesterday, one of my favorite Twitter pundits, @groditi (Guillermo Roditi Dominguez, managing director of New River Investments), noted wryly:
42% of freddie mac purchase origination was for 1st time home buyers, highest share in 10y. "millenials won't buy homes," they said...
— Guillermo :( (@groditi) November 2, 2016
