To: REAL ESTATE EDITORS
Contact: Kayleen J. Keneally, Senior Director, CorporateCommunications of Bankrate, Inc., +1-917-368-8677,kkeneally@bankrate.com
NEW YORK, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fixed mortgage ratesdeclined, with the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage ratefalling to 6.42 percent. According to Bankrate.com's weekly nationalsurvey of large lenders, the average 30-year fixed mortgage has anaverage of 0.36 discount and origination points.
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The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage popular for refinancingfell by a similar amount to 6.10 percent. The average jumbo 30-yearfixed rate pulled back to 7.28 percent. Adjustable mortgage rateswere lower as well, with the average one-year ARM slipping to 6.13percent, and the average 5/1 ARM sliding to 6.26 percent.
Another drop in pending home sales added to mounting housingconcerns and helped pull mortgage rates lower. Worries about theeconomic fallout from housing enticed investors into the safety andsecurity of long-term government bonds. Fixed mortgage rates areclosely related to yields on ten-year Treasury notes. The path ofmortgage rates in the next week is very likely to hinge on theoutcome of the employment report to be released Oct. 5. If job growthdoes not appear as bad as initially thought, this could give theFederal Open Market Committee latitude to pause at the next meeting.But more troubling signs from the job market might compel the Fed tocut interest rates again. The Fed remains coy about plans for theOct. 30-31 meeting.
Fixed mortgage rates remain the most attractive option forborrowers. Just three months ago, the average 30-year fixed mortgagerate was 6.74 percent, meaning that a $200,000 loan would havecarried a monthly payment of $1,295.87. Now that the averageconforming 30-year fixed rate is 6.42 percent, the same $200,000 loancarries a monthly payment of $1,253.63.
SURVEY RESULTS
30-year fixed: 6.42% -- down from 6.49% last week (avg. points:0.36)
15-year fixed: 6.10% -- down from 6.16% last week (avg. points:0.34)
5/1 ARM: 6.26% -- down from 6.35% last week (avg. points: 0.36)
Bankrate's national weekly mortgage survey is conducted eachWednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in thetop 10 markets.
For a full analysis of this week's move in mortgage rates, go tohttp://www.bankrate.com/mortgagerates.
The survey is complemented by Bankrate's weekly forward-lookingRate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts whichway the rates are headed over the next 30 to 45 days. This week,almost half of the panelists - 45 percent - believe mortgage rateswill remain relatively unchanged over the next 30 to 45 days. Theremainder are almost evenly split, with 27 percent forecasting adecline, and 28 percent expecting rates to rise in the coming weeks.
For the full mortgage Rate Trend Index, go to http://www.bankrate.com/RTI
About Bankrate, Inc.
Bankrate, Inc. (Nasdaq: RATE) ("Bankrate") owns and operatesBankrate.com, a leading Internet consumer banking marketplace.Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance channels,including banking, investing, taxes, debt management and collegefinance. Bankrate is the leading aggregator of more than 300financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and usedauto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees,home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate reviews more than4,800 financial institutions in 575 markets in 50 states. In 2006,Bankrate.com had nearly 53 million unique visitors. Bankrate providesfinancial applications and information to a network of more than 75partners, including Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), America Online (NYSE:TWX), The Wall Street Journal (NYSE: DJ) and The New York Times(NYSE: NYT). Bankrate's information is also distributed through morethan 400 national and state publications. In addition toBankrate.com, Bankrate also owns and operates Bankrate Select, anInternet lead aggregator, Mortgage-calc.com, which provides consumerswith financial calculators, and Mortgage Market Information Services,Inc. and Interest.com, Inc., each of which publishes mortgage guidesand financial rates and information.
For more information contact:
Kayleen J. Keneally
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
kkeneally@bankrate.com
(917) 368-8677
NOTE TO EDITORS: The information contained in this release isavailable for print or broadcast with attribution to Bankrate.com.
SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.
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