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| Longer term mortgage rates improved, but applications were still off. The 1-year adjustable-rate average surged, however, while its underlying index tumbled.
Down 5 basis points from last week and last year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.47% in Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending Aug. 21. The average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, at 6.00%, was down 7 BPS from the prior week. The 10-year Treasury yield, which has historically been tracked by fixed mortgage rates, was 3.84% early today, 0.06% better than a week ago, according to date reported by CNNMoney. Half of the mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers and other “experts” surveyed by Bankrate.com for the week Aug. 21 to Aug. 27 forecast no change in mortgage rates during the next 35 to 45 days. Rates will increase by at least 3 BPS, according to 29 of the panelists while 21 projected an decrease. The average 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage fell 3 BPS over the past seven days to 5.99%, Freddie reported. The average 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM jumped to 5.29% from 5.18% last week, according to Freddie’s survey. But the underlying 1-year index, the 1-year Treasury yield, closed yesterday at 2.06%, dropping 0.13% from seven days earlier, data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury indicated. Another ARM index, the 6-month London Interbank Offered Rate, was 3.13% as of Aug. 20, according to Bankrate.com. LIBOR was 3.10% a week earlier. ARMs accounted for 8% of applications tracked in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey of mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts for the week ending Aug. 15. The previous week, ARM share was 7%. MBA said overall applications were off 2% from the prior week on a seasonally adjusted basis, pushing the Market Composite Index down to 419.3. Refinances fell 4% — with the refinance share edging down to 35% — while purchases were off fractionally. Government applications, however, edged up slightly. |
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