Mortgage Rates Fall for 3rd Consecutive Week According to Bankrate.com Weekly National Survey

NEW YORK, NY – Mortgage rates continued to drop this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate sitting at 4.18 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.25 discount and origination points.

Both the larger jumbo 30-year fixed (4.24 percent) and the average 15-year fixed mortgage (3.41 percent) remained unchanged this week. Adjustable mortgage rates were mixed, with the 5-year ARM slipping to 3.45 percent and the 7-year ARM dropping to 3.68 percent.

Mortgage rates fell for the third week in a row, despite a slight upward creep in inflation and wages. The Consumer Price Index went up 2.1 percent in 2016, which is higher than the Federal Reserve’s inflation target. The Fed also noted that businesses are seeing upward pressure on wages. The inflationary news didn’t push mortgage rates higher, though, as geopolitical uncertainty dominated.

At the current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 4.18 percent, the monthly payment for a $200,000 loan is $975.70.

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 4.18% — down from 4.20% last week (avg. points: 0.24)
15-year fixed: 3.41% — unchanged from 3.41% last week (avg. points: 0.19)
5/1 ARM: 3.45% — down from 3.52% last week (avg. points: 0.34)

Bankrate’s national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in 10 top markets.

For a full analysis of this week’s move in mortgage rates, go to www.bankrate.com

The survey is complemented by Bankrate’s weekly Rate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts which way the rates are headed over the next seven days. The majority of the panelists – 46 percent – expect mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged over the next week. About a third of the experts, 36 percent, predict further declines in mortgage rates while just 18 percent forecast an increase in the coming week.