Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Largely Unchanged as Fed Stays Course

NEW YORK, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mortgage rates inched lower this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate dipping to 4.33 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.35 discount and origination points.

To see mortgage rates in your area, go to http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/mortgages/.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate nosed higher to 3.44 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate slid to 4.38 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were mostly higher, with the 3-year ARM rising to 3.27 percent and the 7-year ARM drifting upward to 3.63 percent.     

Mortgage rates remain at attractive levels despite the ongoing tapering of bond stimulus by the Federal Reserve, defying expectations for rising rates this year. How is this? One reason is the choppy economic performance to start 2014, including a notable economic contraction in the first three months of the year. But a second contributor is the fact that, although the Fed is buying fewer bonds, the ongoing stimulus efforts of the European Central Bank have driven interest rates so low on the other side of the Atlantic that many overseas investors have piled into U.S. Treasuries, filling the void left by the Fed and keeping both bond yields and mortgage rates at low levels. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government debt.

As 2013 came to a close, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 4.69 percent. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,036.07. After drifting lower for much of the first five months of 2014, the average rate is now 4.33 percent, and the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $993.27, a savings of nearly $43 per month for anyone that waited.

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 4.33% -- down from 4.34% last week (avg. points: 0.35)
15-year fixed: 3.44% -- up from 3.43% last week (avg. points: 0.19)
5/1 ARM: 3.37% -- unchanged from last week (avg. points: 0.22)

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

For a full analysis of this week's move in mortgage rates, go to http://www.bankrate.com/mortgagerates.

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. Panelists are split, with 43 percent forecasting an increase in mortgage rates over the coming week, while an equal 43 percent expect mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged. Just 14 percent predict a decline in mortgage rates over the next seven days.

For the full mortgage Rate Trend Index, go to http://www.bankrate.com/news/rate-trends/mortgage.aspx.

To download the Bankrate Mortgage Calculator & Mortgage Rates iPhone App 2.0 go to
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bankrate-mortgage-calculator/id551454062?mt=8.

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate (NYSE:RATE) is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, our flagship website, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including CreditCards.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, InsuranceQuotes.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, InsureMe.com, and NetQuote.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of nearly 600 local markets in all 50 U.S. states, Bankrate generates over 172,000 distinct rate tables capturing on average over three million pieces of information daily. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 80 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, CNN Money, CNBC, and Comcast. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

For more information contact:
Kayleen Yates
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
[email protected]
(917) 368-8677   

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130805/FL58072LOGO

SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED