MortgageMortgage Rates

Mortgage rates steady after period of volatility

Disappointing jobs report stalls rapid interest rate changes

Talks of the Federal Reserve tapering its purchase of mortgage-backed securities sent mortgage interest rates rolling from May to July.

But it seems the latest rate report from Freddie Mac shows some signs of interest rate stabilization.

Mortgage rates for the week ending Aug. 8 changed very little from the previous week.  

In fact, a majority of the rates analyzed by Freddie Mac in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey either stayed the same or edged up slightly.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage came in at 4.40%, below its recent high of 4.51% in mid-July. Still, that rate is virtually unchanged from a week earlier when it reached 4.39%.

In addition, the 15-year, FRM averaged 3.43% in the recent report, unchanged from last week, but up from 2.84% last year.

The 5-year, Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage came in at 3.19%, a slight jump from 3.18% last week and a substantial increase from 2.77% last year.

The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM reached 2.62%, down from 2.64% a week earlier and not far from the 2.65% rate reported a year earlier.

Bankrate, on the other hand, said rates fell on July's disappointing jobs report.

In its weekly national survey, Bankrate reported that the 30-year, FRM fell to 4.56%, while the 15-year, FRM declined to 3.62%. In addition, the jumbo 30-year, FRM retreated to 4.68%, while the 5-year ARM and 10-year ARM slipped to 2.53% and 4.11%, respectively.

"The disappointing July jobs report cast some doubt on whether the Federal Reserve would begin tapering their bond purchases in September," Bankrate explained.

“With encouraging and disappointing economic news offsetting each other on almost a daily basis, look for mortgage rates to remain range bound at least until there is greater clarity regarding both the economy and Fed policy," Bankrate added.

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