Mortgage rates dropped across the board today, led by a 6 basis point (a basis point equals 1/100 of a percent) decline in both the 30-year fixed and 30-year fixed refinance rates.
The good news keeps coming for home buyers considering a jumbo fixed rate alternative -- "jumbo" loans are generally required if you need to borrow more than $417,000, though that varies somewhat depending on individual housing markets -- as the rate on a 30-year fixed jumbo dropped another 4 basis points. Tacked on to the the previous three days' declines, the rate is now down a cumulative 32 basis points.
The average rates on other loan options all inched downward as well, mostly by 2 to 4 basis points.
Here are all of today's average mortgage rates across the U.S., along with where they stood a month ago.
|
Mortgage Type |
Mortgage Rates Today |
Mortgage Rates 1 Month Ago |
|---|---|---|
|
30-year fixed jumbo |
4.27% |
4.46% |
|
30-year fixed |
3.82% |
3.90% |
|
15-year fixed |
3.05% |
3.10% |
|
30-year fixed refinance |
3.80% |
3.90% |
|
15-year fixed refinance |
3.04% |
3.10% |
|
5/1 ARM |
3.19% |
3.11% |
|
5/1 ARM refinance |
3.28% |
3.28% |
Data source: Bloomberg. National average rates which may include points.
Mortgage rates continue to edge closer to their record lows, particularly when compared with loan costs from a few years back. For some perspective, here are the average mortgage rates from May 2007.
|
Mortgage Type |
Mortgage Rates May 2007 |
|---|---|
|
30-year fixed |
6.26% |
|
15-year fixed |
5.97% |
|
1-year ARM |
5.52% |
|
5/1 ARM |
5.98% |
Data source: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Rates do not include points.
For homeowners considering a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or equity loan, the strong housing market continues to work in their favor. HELOC loans held steady at 5.30% while equity loans eased a point to 5.26%. A month ago, HELOCs were 5.30% and equity loans 5.28%.
