Last week brought big improvements in mortgage interest rates despite a plethora of bad news. The final piece of unsettling news came Friday afternoon when Barney Frank said his team which oversees Fannie and Freddie would recommend the end of times for the two age old mortgage companies. Mortgage-backed securities continued their rise last week sending mortgage rates which move the opposite down. The benchmark 10 year treasury yield, used to forecast mortgage interest rates dropped significantly last week and today is at 3.62, up 0.23 (+6.78%) on the day. The benchmark yield was below 3.2 when mortgage interest rates dipped to all time record lows. It was announced today existing home sales made the biggest month over month plunge down over 16% in December following the extension of the home buyer tax credit.
Mortgage Interest Rates Today
Our research of wholesale mortgage lender’s interest rate sheets shows a slight deterioration in the past 2 days but not enough to change mortgage interest rates. 30 year fixed mortgage interest rates today at par remain as low as 4.75%. 15 year fixed interest rates remain as low as 4.25% at par. 5/1 ARM rates remain as low as 3.75%. All conforming programs are down from a week ago.
Current 30 year fixed FHA mortgage rates remain slightly better than conforming, at 4.75% with rebate for brokers. For consumers FHA mortgages almost always will cost more because of the higher set fees including PMI.
Current 30 year fixed jumbo mortgage rates remain as low as 5.75% at par.
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