Mortgages
- 3.79% (30-year fixed)
- 0.4 (average points)
Mortgage rates inched down this week after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke left the door open for additional economic stimulus.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 1 basis point to 3.79 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 1 basis point to 3.04 percent. The average rate for 30-year jumbo mortgages, or generally for those of more than $417,000, fell 5 basis points to 4.33 percent.
The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 4 basis points to 2.76 percent. With a 5/1 ARM, the rate is fixed for five years and adjusted annually thereafter.
The volume of mortgage applications decreased 2.5 percent last week compared to one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.