More good news on mortgage rates today: Except for the 30-year fixed jumbo, which jumped to 4.83% from Tuesday's 4.63%, most loan alternatives continued their slow but steady downward trend. Even adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) remained stable, which is a bit surprising, given the recent bumps in prime rates -- what lenders charge their most creditworthy customers -- that many banks instituted following the recent hike in the federal funds rate.
For home shoppers, here are today's average mortgage rates across the U.S., along with where they stood a month ago:
|
Mortgage Rates (National Average) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Loan variety |
Today |
1 month ago |
|
30-year fixed jumbo |
4.83% |
4.53% |
|
30-year fixed |
4.05% |
4.05% |
|
15-year fixed |
3.23% |
3.20% |
|
30-year fixed refinance |
4.07% |
4.08% |
|
15-year fixed refinance |
3.24% |
3.25% |
|
5/1 ARM |
3.26% |
3.17% |
|
5/1 ARM refinance |
3.35% |
3.30% |
|
Data source: Bloomberg. Rates may include points. |
||
Rates may not be as attractive as they were a couple of years back, but relatively speaking, mortgages are still priced at a steep discount. For some perspective, here are a few of the rates some of us more "experienced" home shoppers were faced with 15 years ago:
|
Mortgage Rates (National Average) | |
|---|---|
| Loan variety |
March 2002 |
|
30-year fixed |
7.01% |
|
15-year fixed |
6.52% |
|
1-year ARM |
5.06% |
|
Data source: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Rates do not include points. |
|
For current homeowners considering taking out a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or equity loan, there was a slight change today. The strong housing market has kept average HELOC and equity loan rates fairly stable at 5.14% and 5.22%, respectively. Though the average rates for a HELOC inched up a bit, both equity loan rates remain below last month's rate of 5.26% each.
