Today's Mortgage Rates
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Following Treasury yields higher, mortgage rates stormed higher this week to their highest level since last July.
As reported by Freddie Mac today, the average offered interest rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose by 16 basis points (0.16%), rising to 2.97% for the week. Following their longer-term sibling, conforming 15-year FRMs bounced higher by 13 basis points, with the popular refinancing vehicle rising to 2.34%, its highest point since November. Even the initial fixed interest rate for a hybrid 5/1 ARM wasn't immune to the increase, rising 12 one-hundredths of a percentage point (0.12%) to 2.99% to close the survey.
As we discussed in the February 12 MarketTrends newsletter, the gap between mortgage rates and Treasury yields had narrowed to normal levels, making it more likely that any increase in the influential 10-year Treasury would more directly translate into mortgage rates. That's what's been happening in the last couple of weeks, with Treasury yields moving higher in anticipation of faster economic growth and the potential for firming inflation.
The Fed continues to remain unconcerned about price pressures forming in varying parts of the supply chains, and expects inflation to rise this spring before settling back. Investors don't seem convinced of this, and new Fed policy is willing to let inflation rise to unknown levels for unknown periods of time as compensation for recent years where inflation has been too low. With this uncharted territory ahead, folks buying bonds are becoming concerned that today's puny yields will be more than erased by even what is considered historically mild levels of inflation.
With Treasury yields still rising, there yet remains some upward pressure for mortgage rates. How much remains to be seen, but the rout for bonds may be getting close to leveling off at least.
In each week's MarketTrends newsletter, we track and discuss economic conditions that affect mortgage rates and their impact on housing markets and consumers. Read the most recent edition on HSH.com or subscribe for email delivery.
Current mortgage rates
Week | 30-year-Fixed | 15-year-Fixed | 5-year-ARM |
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02/18 | 2.810% | 2.210% | 2.770% |
02/11 | 2.730% | 2.190% | 2.790% |
02/04 | 2.730% | 2.210% | 2.780% |
01/28 | 2.730% | 2.200% | 2.800% |
01/21 | 2.770% | 2.210% | 2.800% |
01/14 | 2.790% | 2.230% | 3.120% |
01/07 | 2.650% | 2.160% | 2.750% |
12/31 | 2.670% | 2.170% | 2.710% |
12/24 | 2.660% | 2.190% | 2.790% |
12/17 | 2.670% | 2.210% | 2.790% |
12/10 | 2.710% | 2.260% | 2.790% |
12/03 | 2.710% | 2.260% | 2.860% |
Mortgage Choices at a Glance
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Latest Mortgage Rate Analysis
HSH's longer-range outlook for mortgage rates, where we review our last forecast,discuss current market influences and provide our expectations for mortgage rates over the next nine weeks.