Two key mortgage rates rose on Wednesday. The average 30-year mortgage rate is 3.53%, which equates to a $450.72 monthly payment per $100,000 borrowed. A month ago, the equivalent payment would have been lower by $5.57. If you were to opt for a shorter term, the average 15-year mortgage rate is 2.75%, which equates to a $678.62 monthly payment per $100,000 borrowed. A month ago, the equivalent payment would have been lower by $3.32.

RATE (NATIONAL AVERAGE)

TODAY

1 MONTH

30 Year Fixed Jumbo

4.07%

4.16%

30 Year Fixed

3.53%

3.43%

15 Year Fixed

2.75%

2.68%

30 Year Fixed Refi

3.56%

3.48%

15 Year Fixed Refi

2.78%

2.70%

5/1 ARM

3.01%

2.94%

5/1 ARM Refi

3.15%

3.09%

Source: Bloomberg

Financial markets: The "Trump paradox" rolls on

As he has done in the political arena, Donald Trump upended conventional wisdom in financial markets on Wednesday with his election victory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.4% on Wednesday, having surpassed its all-time closing high on an intraday basis – pundits were predicting a decline in stock averages. On the interest rate front, conventional suggested that the odds of a December interest rate rise from the Federal Reserve would fall, due to the prospect of a Trump presidency representing a new source of significant uncertainty. The market-implied odds did fall -- but by just 2 percentage points, to 82%, according to data from the federal funds futures market. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Trump would not be seeking Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen's resignation (but neither would he appoint her to a second term; her current term goes to Feb. 2018).

What a Trump presidency will ultimately mean for homebuyers is an unknown; however, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note ran up by 20 basis points (1 basis point equals one hundredth of a percentage point) to 2.058% today – its highest level since Jan. Prospective homebuyers will be hoping rates aren't "going to be huge", to paraphrase our next president.