Mortgage Rates Stabilize, with 30-Year Unchanged from Prior Week

Having spent the last several months bouncing around, average fixed mortgage rates were little changed over the last week as market speculation settled.

[IMAGE]

""Freddie Mac's"":http://www.freddiemac.com/ Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.40 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending August 15, flat from last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.62 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.44 percent (0.6 point), up very slightly from 3.43 percent in the last survey.

[COLUMN_BREAK]

Adjustable rates were a little more mobile. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.23 percent (0.5 point) this week--up from 3.19 percent--while the 1-year ARM averaged 2.67 percent (0.4 point), up from 2.62 percent.

""Fixed mortgage rates have been bouncing around over the past few weeks on market speculation that the Fed will taper some of its monetary stimulus,"" explained Frank Nothaft, chief economist and VP at Freddie Mac. ""In fact, 65 percent of economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the Fed to reduce the amount of bond purchases at its September 17th and 18th monetary policy committee meetings.""

Nothaft also noted that the average 30-year fixed rate is now 1.1 percentage points above their all-time low recorded in November 2012--translating into $125 more per month in mortgage payments on a $200,000 loan.

""Bankrate.com"":http://www.bankrate.com/ also reported slight movements in average fixed rates. According to Bankrate's weekly national survey, the 30-year fixed averaged 3.57 percent this week (up 1 basis point), while the 15-year fixed averaged 3.61 percent (down a single point).

The 5/1 ARM was 3.61 percent, up more significantly from 3.53 percent, Bankrate reported.