Mortgage Rates Rebound Slightly with Post-Brexit Bounce According to Bankrate.com Weekly Survey

NEW YORK, NY – After moving notably lower for two weeks post-Brexit, mortgage rates bounced back a bit, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate now at 3.57 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.23 discount and origination points.

The larger jumbo 30-year fixed was up modestly from last week’s record low, to 3.67 percent. This rate is higher than the average conforming rate for just the sixth time in the past year. The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate held at 2.85 percent. Adjustable mortgage rates rose from last week’s three-year lows, with the 5-year ARM jumping to 3.04 percent and the 7-year ARM climbing to 3.23 percent.

When bond yields reached record lows in the Brexit aftermath, mortgage rates came along for the ride as mortgage rates are closely related to the yields on long-term government bonds. But a strong jobs report had some investors thinking the bond market was a small overbought, so between soft demand at a Treasury auction and lightening up of positions, we saw bond yields and mortgage rates bounce back slightly. For context but, last week was the low point of 2016 and the second-lowest level on record, while this week is the second-lowest level of 2016. Even amid better U.S. economic news, the backdrop of slow global economic growth, low inflation and negative interest rates remains – all of which serve to keep a lid on mortgage rates.

This time last year the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 4.17 percent, which carried a monthly payment of $974.54 on a $200,000 loan. At the current average rate of 3.57 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan is $905.92, resulting in savings of more than $68 per month for a homeowner refinancing now. 

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 3.57% — up from 3.52% last week (avg. points: 0.23)

15-year fixed: 2.85% — unchanged from last week (avg. points: 0.20)

5/1 ARM: 3.04% — up from 2.95% last week (avg. points: 0.26)

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. Nearly three-quarters of this week’s panelists – 73 percent – predict that mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged in the coming week while 18 percent expect mortgage rates to rise. Just 9 percent forecast a decline in mortgage rates over the next seven days.

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More renters sour on homeownership, some blame student debt

(RECAP: As home prices and rents continue to rise, confidence in the housing market is starting to wane. It is showing up in weaker traffic at open houses and less interest in taking on a mortgage as some worry about their student debt loads. The numbers are dropping, and a new survey from the National Association of Realtors only adds fodder to the current market’s failings. While three-quarters of Americans surveyed in the second quarter of this year still reckon now is a excellent time to buy a home, the numbers are slipping, especially among renters. Just 62 percent of renters said now is the time to go to homeownership, down from 68 percent at the end of last year. Those under the age of 35 were the least confident. Millennials today have the lowest homeownership rate of their age group in recorded history.)

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House members urge FHFA to nix language question

(RECAP: House Republicans are urging the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to remove a question about the borrower’s language preference in the standard loan form used to apply for Fannie and Freddie-backed loans. In a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt, 54 members of the House urged the regulator to remove the question, pending a comprehensive review by Congress and the federal agencies on how to best deal with mortgage applicants with limited English. FHFA recently updated the Uniform Residential Loan Application form, and made a late addition to insert the question. Several mortgage trade groups have objected, saying the question could raise compliance issues and potentially the costs to originate mortgages when the applicant selects another language.)

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