Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

Pending home sales surged in May, spurred by lower interest rates and increased inventory, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday. The group's Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), which measures contract signings as an indicator of future sales figures, jumped 6.1 percent month-over-month to 103.9. It was the largest one-month increase since April 2010.

Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, shows the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) falling to 4.14 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending June 26, a continued slide from 4.17 percent last week .The declines follow Wednesday's report on gross domestic product in the first quarter, which surprised most analysts with news of a worse than expected contraction in the nation's economy.

A year ago, interest rates were on their way up on speculation that the Fed may soon start tapering its bond stimulus. Now that the central bank is on track to potentially end its stimulus purchases by the end of the year, rates have actually shown little movement, defying expectations. While the first quarter's economic contraction is partly responsible for rates staying put, analysts at Bankrate.com say developments overseas are also having an effect.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a seasonally adjusted 9.2 percent decline in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 13. On an unadjusted basis, the group's application index was down 10 percent over the week. The drop reverses an adjusted 10.3 percent increase reported the week prior and accompanies a slight rise in average 30-year fixed rates to 4.36 percent.

The latest Residential Price Index (RPI) report from FNC, Inc., shows home price appreciation continued in April at a monthly pace of 0.6 percent nationally, matching March's month-over-month increase. Though monthly increases picked up momentum in April, yearly returns continued to moderate for the second straight month—"a sign that the annual rate of home price appreciation has peaked," FNC said.

In a survey of economists, the Wall Street Journal found optimism for housing starts through the rest of the year has dropped, thanks to a slow first half. To begin the year, the consensus view among economists participating in the survey was that housing starts would jump 20 percent this year, rising to 1.11 million units from a total of 924,900 in 2013. Now, that prediction is down to 1.05 million.

According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.20 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending June 12, an increase of 6 basis points from last week's report. Last year, the 30-year FRM hovered just below 4.0 percent. The increase followed last week's release of the May jobs report, which showed payrolls performing more or less as expected.

Consumers' attitudes about housing diminished somewhat last month as economic worries weighed on their minds, according to new survey results from Fannie Mae. "While recent housing activity suggests that the worst of the housing slump may be behind us, this caution among consumers supports our expectation that the rebound in home sales will likely be too modest to pull sales for all of 2014 ahead of last year," Doug Duncan, chief economist.

In its latest survey results, Freddie Mac recorded the average 30-year fixed rate at 4.14 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending June 5, up from last week's average 4.12 percent. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.91 percent and rising. The 15-year FRM also moved up this week, hitting an average of 3.23 percent (0.5 point).

Using information reported weekly by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), research firm Capital Economics calculated a 2.0 percent rise in application volumes throughout May, a reversal from April's 4.8 percent drop. The increase came despite a 3.1 percent decline in the month's final week, bringing activity to a six-week low.