The good news just keeps coming on mortgage rates. Many expected a slow but steady increase in mortgage rates following the Federal Reserve's 0.25% bump in its overnight rate last week, not to mention the ensuing increase in prime rates -- the interest lenders charge their most creditworthy customers -- many banks instituted as a result. However, fixed rates declined across the board again today, and even adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) remained stable.
For today's home shoppers, here are the current average mortgage rates across the U.S., along with where they stood last month.
|
Mortgage Rates (National Average) | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Today |
1 month ago |
|
|
30-year fixed jumbo |
4.63% |
4.26% |
|
30-year fixed |
4.07% |
4.01% |
|
15-year fixed |
3.24% |
3.14% |
|
30-year fixed refi |
4.08% |
4.05% |
|
15-year fixed refi |
3.24% |
3.16% |
|
5/1 ARM |
3.28% |
3.16% |
|
5/1 ARM refi |
3.38% |
3.27% |
|
Data source: Bloomberg. Rates may include points. |
||
Rates aren't quite as attractive as they were a while back, but relatively speaking it's still a good time to shop for a mortgage. For some perspective, here are a few of the rates home shoppers were faced with 10 years ago.
|
Mortgage Rates (National Average) | |
|---|---|
|
March, 2007 |
|
|
30-year fixed |
6.16% |
|
15-year fixed |
5.88% |
|
1-year ARM |
5.45% |
|
Data source: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Rates do not include points. |
|
For those of you who already own a home and are considering a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or equity loan, there was little change today. The strong housing market has kept average HELOC and equity loan rates fairly stable at 5.10% and 5.22%, respectively. Both HELOC and equity loan rates remain below last month's respective rate of 5.26% each.
