Fixed rates on home loans worsened over the past week. But one product — the hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage — turned lower.
In the week ended Aug.13, average fixed rates were 3.94 percent, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey from Freddie Mac.
The 30 year moved up three basis points from a week prior, Compared to the same week last year, however, the 30 year has improved 18 BPS.
“Another solid if not stellar employment report leaves a potential Fed rate hike on the table for September,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sean Becketti said in the report. “However, this year’s theme of overseas economic turbulence continues with the focus shifting east to China. Over the past few days the Chinese Yuan has fallen sharply.”
Joe Farr, director at MBSQuoteline, said in a written statement that there was a nice rally in mortgage-backed securities prices
following China’s surprise announcement to devalue its currency.
“Mortgage rates on Thursday are really a little better than what the Freddie Mac survey shows,” Farr added.
A Mortgage Daily analysis of Treasury market activity points to little, if any, change over the next week — though the China factor leaves room for volatility.
But half of the Panelists surveyed by Bankrate.com for the week Aug. 13 to Aug. 19 predicted mortgage rates will move lower by at least three BPS. A third projected no change, and just 17 percent expected an increase.
Interest rates on jumbo mortgages averaged 14 BPS less than conforming rates in the U.S. Mortgage Market Index report from OpenClose and Mortgage Daily for the week ended Aug. 7. The jumbo-conforming spread narrowed from a negative 18 BPS the prior week.
Fifteen-year fixed rates were 3.17 percent, four BPS worse than in the week ended Aug. 6, Freddie’s report said. The difference between 15- and 30-year rates narrowed to 77 BPS from the prior week’s 78 BPS.
But Freddie reported that five-year, Treasury-indexed, hybrid, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 2.93 percent, lower than 2.95 percent seven days earlier.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 2.62 percent, lunging from 2.54 percent in the last survey and 2.36 percent in the week ended Aug. 14, 2014.
The index for the one-year ARM, the yield on the one-year Treasury,
rose to 0.40 percent Thursday from 0.35 percent one week prior, according to Treasury Department data.
At 0.52 percent as of Wednesday, the six-month London Interbank Offered Rate was three BPS more than a week previous, Bankrate.com reported.
In the latest Mortgage Market Index report, ARM share was a little over 9.8 percent versus a little less than 9.8 percent in the previous report.
