The secondary mortgage market has been volatile today. Prices of Mortgage Backed Securities, which drive mortgage interest rates, have sea sawed this morning. The benchmark 1o year treasury yield, which many use to forecast mortgage interest rates, is virtually unchanged. The yield shot up early in the morning before retreating. The Dow is down about 28 points reversing its course from this morning when it was up. Despite an all time record low 4.5% 30 year fixed mortgage rate for several days early this week and late last week the Mortgage Bankers Association says refinance and purchase loan applications are up just slightly. Yesterday, following more good housing data, prices of MBS declined sending mortgage interest rates up an 1/8%. Mortgage interest rates are on the bottom of a slow gradual decline of now nearly a full percentage point over 3 months. The trend the past few years has been for mortgage interest rates to bottom out during the holidays and go up soon after.
Current Interest Rates – 30, 15 Year Fixed Mortgage, 5/1 ARM.
Despite a size-able move down in the price of Mortgage Backed Securities (Mortgage Interest Rates move opposite) this morning mortgage interest rates were able to hold thanks to a retreat in the early afternoon of MBS price. The current 30 year fixed interest rate remains 4.625%. The 30 year fixed interest rate rose 1/8% yesterday. The current 15 year fixed interest rate remains 4.25%, where it’s been for most of the past few months with the exception of a few recent days where it was at 4.125%. The current 5/1 ARM rate is 3.5%, ridiculously low but this program is not recommended.