According to HSH.com, the average rates and points offered by lenders for the two most popular types of mortgages, the conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and the conforming 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage.

Average rates for both loan types continued to increase during the week ending March 27.

The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages grew by 3 basis points (0.03 percent) to 4.16 percent.

Conforming 5/1 hybrid ARM rates jumped by 5 basis points, closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at an average of 3.06 percent.

Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com, stated "Although rates moved upward this week, the size of the increase is small. It appears that the interest rates that most influence mortgages have settled back this week compared to last, so mortgage rates should ease back a little as the week progresses."

A drop in the bond market reflected earlier expectations that the U.S. economy was gaining traction at a faster rate, and that the Federal Reserve may begin to increase interest rates sooner than the end of 2014.

Source: sfgate.com

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage remained near a low this week, making home-buying and refinancing more attractive to those who can qualify.

According to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the 30-year loan increased to 3.92 percent.

That’s a growth from 3.88 percent the previous week.

The rate reached 3.87 percent four weeks ago, which is the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage jumped to 3.16 percent, which is up from a record low of 3.13 percent last week.

Rates on the 30-year loan have been under 4 percent for three months.

Low rates are among the positive signs emerging that suggest this year could mark a turnaround for the housing market.

Source: indystar.com

The Mortgage Bankers Association publishes the results of a weekly applications survey that covers an estimated 50 percent of all residential mortgage originations and tracks the average interest rate for 30-year and 15-year fixed rate mortgages as well as the volume of both refinance and purchase applications.

The purchase application index has been highlighted as a particularly important data series as it broadly captures the demand side of residential real estate for both existing and new home purchases.

The latest data is showing that the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage went flat at 3.965% since last week while the purchase application volume grew 2.1% and the refinance application dropped 2.0% over the same period.

Source: csmonitor.com