Today’s Mortgage Rates Zap Mortgage Refinancing

Rising interest rates are causing a drop in mortgage refinancing, reversing an upward trend started earlier this year. An upward march of U.S. Treasury yields are causing today’s mortgage rates to rise quickly, killing the recent mortgage refinance boom that was brought on my lower rates.

10 year U.S Treasury rates are nearing four percent today, a range not seen since October of last year, a sharp movement up since the low of around two percent in late December.

As a result of the sharp uptick in Treasury prices average mortgage rates are up. Fixed mortgage rates, jumbo mortgage rates, adjustable rate mortgages, HELOC rates and home equity loans have followed the uptick. To give you an idea of the fast increase in mortgage rates, 30-year conforming mortgage rates rose to the 5.60 percent range today, a sharp rise of the low of 4.85 percent three weeks ago, one of the lowest mortgage rates ever for a 30 year loan.  The recent mortgage rate trends will continue upward.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released their weekly survey showing the mortgage refinancing index declined 11.8 and their Market  Composite Index which measures mortgage applications decreased 7.2 percent.

The Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury and the Obama administration have been trying to keep mortgage rates low to put a floor on the housing market, but their programs are starting to have the opposite effect and starting to drive current mortgage rates higher. Mortgage rate forecast is for even higher rates in the future.

Find mortgage rates in your zip code by checking MonitorBankRates.com mortgage tables.

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