Mortgage Rates Hold Steady This Week

Mortgage rates held steady this past week after hitting a new low for 2019 just a few weeks ago. Average 30-year mortgage rates today increased to 3.65 percent last week, up from the prior week's average rate of 3.64 percent. Back in early September, average 30-year mortgage rates fell to a fresh low of 3.49 percent.

30-year mortgage rates started 2019 a lot higher around 4.50 percent. Forecasts were for 30-year rates to hit 5.00 percent by the end of 2019, but those forecasts will be revised down because rates have fallen about 100 basis points the past two months.



15-year mortgage rates are currently averaging 3.14 percent, a decline from the prior week's average 15-year rate of 3.16 percent. 15-year rates have gone down since the start of 2019 but the declines haven't been as much as 30-year rates. Back in January 2019, average 15-year rates were at 3.99 percent, only 85 basis points higher than current 15-year rates.

The decline in mortgage rates the past two months has caused demand for home loans to spike. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 8.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. The MBA's Refinance Index increased 14 percent from the prior week.

30-year jumbo mortgage rates had a big decline the past week, falling 10 basis points from 4.07 percent to 3.97 percent. Current mortgage rates on 15-year jumbo loans increased 1 basis point the past week from 3.81 percent to 3.82 percent.