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Trump Victory Causes Mortgage Rates to Spike According to Bankrate.com Weekly National Survey

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NEW YORK, NY – Mortgage rates were only modestly changed as the nation went to the voting booth, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 3.73 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. But rates have rocketed higher ever since Donald Trump was declared the winner. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.23 discount and origination points.

The larger jumbo 30-year fixed had slid to 3.73 percent, while the average 15-year fixed mortgage rate nosed higher to 2.97 percent. Adjustable mortgage rates were only slightly changed heading into Wednesday, with the 5-year ARM and 7-year ARM inching higher to 3.15 percent and 3.33 percent, respectively.    

Mortgage rates increased sharply throughout the day today, much of the increase coming after data had been gathered for the survey. The election of Donald Trump was shocking to many, but the reaction of U.S. financial markets on Wednesday was a surprise, as well. Contrary to expectations of a sharp drop in stock prices, as had been seen overseas as news broke of the election result, and an expected decline in bond yields, the yield on long-term government bonds really spiked. President-elect Trump’s acceptance speech soothed investors’ nerves and the prospects of higher government spending and more government borrowing for infrastructure improvements sent long-term Treasury yields racing higher. The 10-year Treasury note yield soared above 2 percent on Wednesday, closing at 2.07 percent, the highest since Jan. 22.

At the current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.73 percent, the monthly payment for a $200,000 loan is $923.96.

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 3.73% — up from 3.69% last week (avg. points: 0.23)
15-year fixed: 2.97% — up from 2.96% last week (avg. points: 0.18)
5/1 ARM: 3.15% — up from 3.14% last week (avg. points: 0.27)

Bankrate’s national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in 10 top markets.

For a full analysis of this week’s go in mortgage rates, go to www.bankrate.com  

The survey is complemented by Bankrate’s weekly Rate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts which way the rates are headed over the next seven days. Half of the panelists expect further increases in the next week, while 40 percent predict that mortgage rates will level off at this point. Just 10 percent forecast a pullback in mortgage rates over the next seven days.

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State Down Payment Assistance Poses Minimal Risk to the FHA

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(RECAP: In July 2015, HUD’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) alleged that some state housing financing agencies’ (HFAs’) down payment help programs are violating FHA requirements and putting the FHA mortgage insurance fund at unnecessary risk. In this brief, we review the publicly available data to assess their concerns. We find that the number of loans for which a possible premium was charged is small and that state HFA DPA loans are net present value positive, not negative, to the FHA insurance fund.)

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HUD Has Serious Concerns About Facebook's Ethnic Targeting

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(RECAP: The federal agency that enforces the nation’s honest housing laws said it is “in discussions” with Facebook to address what it termed “serious concerns” about the social network’s advertising practices. Heather Fluit, a spokeswoman for HUD, said in a statement that the department was “aware of published reports that Facebook’s advertising tool may allow users to discriminate in housing advertisements.” Fluitt said Facebook’s advertising policies will be examined by HUD’s office of Honest Housing and Equal Opportunity. ProPublica told last week that Facebook’s software allows advertisers to exclude people from seeing their ads whose habits on the social network suggest an affinity with ethnic groups like African-Americans, Hispanics or Asian-Americans.)

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