30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rates Finish the Week Near 5 Percent – Likely Mortgage Rates Higher Monday

30-year fixed mortgage rates finished this week near 5 percent sea sawing back and forth from 4.75 to 4.875 percent Monday through Friday. Freddie Mac said Thursday afternoon in their weekly mortgage rates survey that 30 year fixed mortgage ratesaveraged 5 percent Monday through Wednesday. Freddie is always a little on the high end. Even higher than Freddie Mac is Bankrate.com. On Bankrate’s website they’ve got 30 year fixed mortgage rates averaging 5.15 percent.  Zillow is displaying a 30 year fixed mortgage rate of 4.84.

So What’s Today’s 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate?

Higher mortgage rates will make it tougher to sell.

FreeRateUpdate.com research of wholesale mortgage lender’s rate sheets shows 30 year fixed mortgages within Fannie/Freddie loan limits as low as 4.875 percent at par. 4.875 percent has been available since 2 Friday’s ago when mortgage rates shot upward from near 4.5 percent. Wednesday afternoon brought the best rates of the week when 30 year fixed mortgages were readily available at 4.75 percent.

The Benchmark Yield and Mortgage Rates Next Week

Today saw the benchmark 10 year treasury yield, used to forecast conforming fixed mortgage rates, shoot up almost 2 percent and into the high 3.4′s. The yield was below 3.2 percent when 30 year fixed mortgage rates neared 4.5 percent. The yield has been anywhere from 3.2 to 3.5 in the past month on any given day typically moving down when the Fed holds big bond auctions. When demand for treasuries are high prices go up and yields and mortgage rates which move their opposite go down. Though the yield moved up significantly today lenders for the most part held their mortgage rates in check. That’s typical for a Friday afternoon. Expect higher mortgage rates, likely at 5 percent 30-years fixed on Monday morning unless the yield moves back down over a 1/10 of a percent.