NMLS: 2576 | CT LICENSE: 1101 | MA LICENSE: LS2576 | MI LICENSE: FR0023580 Rates for conforming conventional loans continue to see increases. Percentages started going up close to a month ago, and while still historically low, they don’t look to be going down any time soon.
According to an Associated Press report, Freddie Mac stated on Wednesday that both 30- and 15-year fixed rate mortgages saw mild jumps over the past week.
For fixed 30-year programs, rates climbed from 4.22 percent last week to 4.29 by November 27. Similarly, fixed 15-year home loans jumped from 3.27 percent the week before to 3.3 percent by Wednesday. However, as the Associated Press points out, rates remain below the peak of 4.6 percent for 30-year conforming loans seen in August 2013, but have still gone up a full percentage point since May 2013.
If you have been keeping track, rate increases began their slow but steady climb all the way back in October. A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at the time had been going for 4.10 percent and went up to 4.16 percent by November 7; from here, the ascent didn’t stop, with 30-year programs eventually seeing rates of 4.35 percent by November 14.
Over the same period, 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages climbed to 3.35 percent, up from 3.20 percent at the end of October.
While conforming conventional loans look like less of a benefit to borrowers, non-conforming mortgages and ARMs appear to be in a better place. Throughout this entire month, one-year ARMs have stayed in the 2.60 to 2.65 percent range; keep in mind that, unlike conventional loans, ARMs often start low with “teaser” rates and start seeing increases as soon as a year into the program. Over the past week, one-year ARM rates declined from 2.61 to 2.60 percent, while five-year ARMs dipped from 2.95 to 2.94.
While ARMs have stayed the same and rates for 15- and 30-year loans went up, non-conforming conventional mortgages – or jumbo loans – have seen interest drop a quarter of a percentage point compared to their conforming counterparts.