Mortgage Rates Fall Last Week In Spite Of Rising For 4 Straight Weeks

We have been watching (like so many others) mortgage rates to see any impact from the Federal Reserve backing away from government backed mortgage bonds as of March 31st. See our March 27th BLOG Post. The big question was whether once those bonds had to be financed by the private sector... rates would have to rise to attract those investors.

Rates for long-term mortgages dropped last week but still remained above 5 percent, Freddie Mac said last Thursday. The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 5.07 percent, down from 5.21 percent the week before. It had our attention when the week of April 5th showed an average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage at the highest since mid-August, when it was 5.29 percent. Rates had dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent in December, pushed down by a campaign by the Federal Reserve campaign in backing the mortgage bonds.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.40 percent, down from 4.52 percent last week. Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.08 percent, down from 4.25 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages dipped to 4.13 percent from 4.14 percent.

Although the program ended at the end of March, the Fed has left the door open to reviving the program if the economy weakens. Lower rates mean more affordable mortgages for Buyers. According to Bankrate.com, the Mortgage Rate Trend Index shows experts mixed in their forecasts with 39% believing rates will rise over the next week or so, 22% thinking they will fall and the other 39% thinking they will remain unchanged.

Don't hesitate to use our website for Mortgage Rate Comparison... and you can even apply online!