US mortgage rates hit record low of 4.88pc
Sunday, 13 June 2010
NEW YORK, June 12 (Commodity Online): Mortgage rates hit another record low this week, with the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 4.88 per cent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.5 discount and origination points.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage dropped slightly to 4.33 per cent while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate inched lower to 5.72 per cent. Adjustable rate mortgages also slid back with the average 1-year ARM dropping to 4.87 per cent and the average 5-year ARM backpedaled to 4.16 per cent.
Fixed mortgage rates hit yet another new low this week following last Friday's disappointing employment report. Weak growth in private sector payrolls - just 41,000 new jobs in May - called into question the overall strength and sustainability of the US economic recovery. Nervous investors again piled into the safe haven of US Treasury notes, which helped bring mortgage rates to previously unseen levels. Weak hiring will further postpone the timeframe when the Federal Reserve begins boosting short-term interest rates, which is also helping keep mortgage rates low.
The last time mortgage rates were above 6 per cent was Nov. 2008. At that time, the average rate was 6.33 per cent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 4.88 per cent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,059.02, a savings of $182 per month for a homeowner refinancing now, according to Bankrate.com's Mortgage Payment Calculator.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage dropped slightly to 4.33 per cent while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate inched lower to 5.72 per cent. Adjustable rate mortgages also slid back with the average 1-year ARM dropping to 4.87 per cent and the average 5-year ARM backpedaled to 4.16 per cent.
Fixed mortgage rates hit yet another new low this week following last Friday's disappointing employment report. Weak growth in private sector payrolls - just 41,000 new jobs in May - called into question the overall strength and sustainability of the US economic recovery. Nervous investors again piled into the safe haven of US Treasury notes, which helped bring mortgage rates to previously unseen levels. Weak hiring will further postpone the timeframe when the Federal Reserve begins boosting short-term interest rates, which is also helping keep mortgage rates low.
The last time mortgage rates were above 6 per cent was Nov. 2008. At that time, the average rate was 6.33 per cent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 4.88 per cent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,059.02, a savings of $182 per month for a homeowner refinancing now, according to Bankrate.com's Mortgage Payment Calculator.