Mortgage Rates Drift Lower as Interest Rates Head Down

Mortgage rates are down this week over last week as 10-year Treasury notes are back below 4.50 percent as of this morning, brought on by a consumer confidence report on Friday showing a surprising drop in the  Reuters/University of Michigan index.

Although the recession is expected to end this year, people are feeling less optimistic about their personal finance at anytime in the past 60 years.





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Mortgage Rate Tables

As consumers are feeling less optimistic about their finances, the Chinese government is feeling a lot more optimistic about the U.S. housing market and mortgage backed securities. The government's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp, is going to buy up to $2 billion in U.S. mortgage securities through the U.S. Treasury-backed Public-Private Investment Plan (PPIP). This investment is a positive sign especially since several sovereign funds got burned last year making investments in U.S. in the early part of the credit crisis.

Mortgage Rates

Today's mortgage rates are down across the board this week compared to last week. 30-year mortgages, 15-year mortgages and jumbo mortgage rates had decent declines. The biggest drop was in jumbo adjustable rate mortgages while home equity loan rates and HELOC rates remained steady.

The average rate on a conventional 30-year mortgage is at 5.31 percent today, down from the previous week's average mortgage rate of 5.51 percent. 15-year conforming mortgage rates declined to 4.75 percent, down from the prior week's average mortgage rate of 4.87 percent.

Jumbo Mortgage Rates

Jumbo rate mortgages more down more than conforming mortgages this past week. The average mortgage rate on a fixed rate 30-year jumbo loan is at 6.13 percent today, down from last week's average mortgage rate of 6.31 percent.

15-year jumbo mortgage rates had a bigger decline, the 15-year rate is now back under 6.00 percent at 5.88 percent, down from the prior week's average rate of 6.15 percent.

Adjustable Mortgage Rates

Adjustable rate mortgages were down the most this past week, longer term adjustable mortgage rates were down more than shorter term rates. The average rate on a 10-year conforming ARM is at 5.22 percent this week, down from last week's average rate of 5.37 percent.

The average rate on a 7-year conventional ARM is back under 5.00 percent at 4.86 percent, down from the prior week's average mortgage interest rate of 5.05 percent.  The average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 5-year ARM is under 4.50 percent at 4.48, down from the previous week's average rate of 4.61 percent.

3-year conventional adjustable mortgage rates are averaging 4.55 percent this week, down from last week's average mortgage rate of 4.66 percent. The average 1-year adjustable home mortgage rate is at 4.34 percent, up from last week's average rate of 4.33 percent.

Jumbo Adjustable Rate Mortgages

Jumbo adjustable rate mortgages were down in a big way this week over last. The average rate on a 10-year jumbo ARM was down almost .50 percent to 6.39 percent, down from the prior week's average rate of 6.86 percent. 7-year jumbo ARMs are down under 6.00 percent again at 5.91 percent, down from last week's average rate of 6.30 percent.

5-year jumbo ARMs are averaging 5.31 percent, down from last week's average mortgage rate of 5.62 percent. 3-year jumbo ARMs are back under 5.50 percent at 5.48 percent, down from the previous week's average rate of 5.81 percent.  The average rate on a 1-year jumbo ARM is at 4.99 percent today, down from last week's average rate of 5.21 percent.

Interest-Only Mortgage Rates

Interest only mortgage loan rates were down with the biggest declines in rates coming from jumbo mortgages. The average rate on a jumbo 7-1 interest only ARM is at 6.13 percent, down from last week's average rate of 6.61 percent.

5-1 IO ARMs declined to 5.56 percent, down from the prior week's average mortgage rate of 5.92 percent. The average home loan rate on a 3-1 jumbo IO is at 5.71 percent this week, down from last week's average rate of 6.17 percent.

HELOC Rates

Home equity line of credit rates were unchanged this week over last week. The average HELOC rate is currently at 4.82 percent.

Home Equity Loan Rates

Home equity loan rates were down slightly this week over last week. The average rate on a 10-year home equity loan is at 7.618 percent this week, down from last week's average loan rate of 7.623 percent. The average rate on a 15-year home equity loan is currently at 7.742 percent this week, down from the previous week's average rate of 7.744 percent.

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