Mortgage rates tick up; 30-year at 5.24%

Are mortgage rates on the way up or down? It depends on whom you ask.

Bankrate.com's on Thursday said its weekly national survey taken Wednesday showed an uptick in rates, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate moving to 5.24 percent, from 5.21 percent.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage carried a .43 discount and origination points, on average.

There was some good news from Bankrate. The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage inched down to 4.74 percent, from 4.76 percent last week. The average rate on a 30-year jumbo mortgage was 6.37 percent.

Just to confuse things, Freddie Mac said Thursday its weekly survey, for the week ended Thursday, pegged the average 30-year fixed rate at 4.82 percent, compared with 4.86 percent last week. In the same weekly period a year ago, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 5.98 percent.

Freddie Mac said the 15-year fixed rate average also slipped, to 4.5 percent from 4.52 percent a week ago.

Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association said mortgage loan applications rose 2.3 percent in the week ended May 15 but an increased share of applications were for refinancings.

Mortgage Loan Rates Stay Under 5% - 9 Straight Weeks

Mortgage loan interest rates continue to hold steady at under 5% for the ninth week in a row.

Although Freddie Mac reported a minimal mortgage interest rate increase of .02 percent for the week ending May 14th, 30-year fixed rate mortgages continue to hover below the 5% mark. Despite the slight increase, the interest rates, 4.84 last week to 4.86 this week, are still the best we have seen in 40 or 50 years especially during a buyer’s market. Last year for the same period, the interest rate on an average 30-year loan was 6.01 percent.

15 year mortgage rates barely edged up by .01 percent from 4.51 to 4.52 for this same week period. While the five-year adjustable mortgage rates slipped to 4.82 percent from 4.9 percent; and the one-year ARM fell to 4.71 percent from 4.78 percent.

The biggest change was High Balance Conforming Owner Occupied and 2nd Home loans which were at a low mortgage interest rate of 4.875% for 30 year fixed.

While the mortgage interest rates showed minimal increase, the volume of loan applications was down. The low mortgage interest rates and all-time high affordable housing are attracting more first time home buyers. According to Frank Northaft, Freddie Mac VP and Chief Economist, “Relatively low house prices and interest rates are clearly helping first-time homebuyers. First-time homebuyers accounted for half of existing home sales in the first three months of this year.”

Freddie Mac collects mortgage interest rates each week from lenders around the country.

Is a Fixed Reverse Mortgage loan right for you?

A Fixed Rate Reverse Mortgage offers the long-term security of consistency and dependability. Interest rates and margins fluctuate frequently, which in turn can change the total amount of income you will receive from your reverse mortgage - but, with the benefits of a fixed rate reverse mortgage, the amount remains the same from the day you sign up to years down the road.
Your interest will never change, which means that you can plan with your finances with greater confidence and use your money for your important expenses. Additionally, you will know exactly how much of an inheritance your heirs will receive which greatly relieves anxiety on all sides.
A Reverse Mortgage benefits senior homeowners by offering a tax-free return on the investment of their home by means of a steady income from a loan derived from the value of their home. In this situation, a Fixed Rate Reverse Mortgage can further reduce any uncertainty about the retirement years by eliminating effects caused by unstable interest rates. There need be no guesswork about how much money.
Historically, a majority of Reverse Mortgage borrowers have taken the adjustable rate route simply because fixed rates have often been higher than the adjustable rates at that time. Now, with current mortgage rates, the fixed rate has become a wise choice. Two years ago the fixed-rate was as high as 6.5%. But in March, 2009 the Fixed Rate Reverse Mortgage was down to as low as 5.63%. This rate accounts for the Initial Interest Rate as well as the Effective Rate. It is a hard and fast rate, and eligibility is based on the Initial Rate rather than the Expected Rate, which is the information by which an adjustable rate reverse mortgage is calculated. By choosing the fixed rate option, that rate will be locked down for the life of the reverse mortgage.
Borrowers have a few options when it come to choosing their Reverse Mortgage program, but in an unstable economy with rising margins, consumers may feel they want to hone their options to what is safe and affordable. With tightening credit, banks must raise loan margins in order to sell reverse mortgage loans on the secondary market. With a higher index and margin, the borrower will receive less money. When the index changes during the lifetime of a loan, the borrower can end up losing a percentage of the income that they were expecting. It would seem that when the margins increase on reverse mortgages the homeowner appears to end up with less money for their reverse mortgage.
This is one of the risks associated with adjustable rate mortgages but avoided with fixed-rate mortgages at a time like this, when rates are low.
By locking in at a low rate, the equity on your home will not erode quickly as rates increase over the years. If you plan to take the full loan amount in the beginning, for instance, if you want to pay off an existing mortgage, or you have another large upfront expense, the fixed rate option is a chance to come away with possibly thousands more dollars than with the adjustable rate option. Now is the greatest time to sign up for a Fixed Rate Reverse Mortgage, with the lowest rates in history and a time where financial stability is most important.

Spain mortgage loan drop eases in March-cen bank

The reduction in mortgage lending by Spanish banks eased substantially in March from sharp falls seen in January and February, the Bank of Spain said on Monday.
New mortgage loans granted by the banks fell 18.5 percent in March from a year ago, compared to a 49 percent drop in January and a 42 percent fall in February.
The 7 billion euros lent was the largest amount since July 2008, according to provisional data cited by the central bank.
Bank of Spain figures also showed banks may slowly be turning the consumer credit tap back on.
Banks lent consumers 24.4 percent less than a year ago in March, compared to a 41.6 percent decline in February.
The bank's figures do not take into account the calendar effect that March had two extra working days this year compared to a year ago.