The 30-year mortgage has stubbornly stayed within 2 basis points of 4 percent for six weeks now — though that’s not a bad place to be stuck. Although fixed rates were lower this week, they could be even lower in next week’s report. Adjustable-rate mortgages, meanwhile, moved up.
Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 3.99 percent in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended Dec. 8.
The 30 year slipped from the prior week’s 4.00 percent and has remained within 2 BPSÂ of 4.00 percent for each of the past six weeks. The average 30 year was 4.61 in the same week during 2010.
During the three-day period that Freddie surveyed 125 lenders for this week’s report, the 10-year Treasury yield averaged 2.05 percent, according to an analysis of market data from the Department of the Treasury. But the 10-year yield closed today at 1.99 percent, leaving room for a 6-basis-point improvement by next week’s survey.
Just 15 percent of the panelists, however, surveyed by Bankrate.com for the week Dec. 8 to Dec. 14 expect rates to decline. No change was predicted by 46 percent, while 39 percent forecasted that rates will increase at least 3 BPS.
Jumbo borrowers paid a premium of 66 BPS over conforming borrowers in the U.S. Mortgage Market Index report from Mortech Inc. and MortgageDaily.com for the week ended Dec. 2. The jumbo-conforming spread was more narrow than last weeks 68 BPS.
The 15-year conforming loan averaged 3.27 percent in Freddie’s survey, lower than 3.30 percent a week prior. Fifteen-year mortgages were priced 72 BPS lower than 30-year loans this week, better than the 70-basis-point spread in the last report.
At 2.93 percent, the five-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3 BPS more than last week.
The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was up 2 BPS over the past seven days to 2.80 percent. The one year sat at 3.27 percent in the same week last year.
The index used to determine adjustments on the one-year ARM, the yield on the one-year Treasury note, slipped to 0.10 percent today from 0.12 percent last Thursday, according to Treasury Department data.
Last week, Mortgage Daily reported that the six-month London Interbank Offered Rate had risen each week since Sept. 14, when the index was 0.50 percent. There was no relenting this week — with LIBORÂ inching up a basis point to 0.76 percent, Bankrate.com reported.
ARM share rose to 5.94 percent from last week’s 5.50 percent based on the Mortgage Market Index report.
