Mortgages
- 4.74% (30-year fixed)
- 0.39 (average points)
Here's a look at the state of mortgage rates from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts conducted July 7, 2010.
Mortgage rates continued their record fall this week.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged down 1 basis point, to 4.74 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. The rate marks a new low in the nearly 25-year history of the weekly Bankrate survey.
Meanwhile, this week's average 15-year fixed-rate -- a popular option for refinancing -- rose 2 basis points, to 4.22 percent.
The average jumbo 30-year fixed fell 7 basis points, to 5.48 percent. That's the lowest rate ever in the Bankrate survey.
Adjustable-rate mortgages slipped this week. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage slid 2 basis points, to 4.79 percent. Meanwhile, the popular 5/1 ARM edged down 1 basis point, to 4.06 percent.
Mortgage applications rose a seasonally adjusted 6.7 percent when compared to a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinance applications shot up 9 percent and are at 13-month highs. By contrast, applications for new purchase dipped 2 percent and have fallen in eight of the last nine weeks.
In other mortgage news, pending home sales fell 30 percent in May when compared to a month earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were also down 15.9 percent year over year.
-- Chris Kissell