Mortgage rates remain at rock-bottom levels, a bit of financial fallout from a new round of uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The average rate on 30-year mortgages stood at 3.04 percent this week, unchanged from last week, according to Bankrate’s weekly survey of large lenders.
A year ago, the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.30 percent. Four weeks ago, the rate was 3.16 percent. The 30-year fixed-rate average for this week is 0.30 percentage points below the 52-week high of 3.34 percent, and is 0.11 percentage points higher than the 52-week low of 2.93 percent.
The 30-year fixed mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.33 discount and origination points.
Over the past 52 weeks, the 30-year fixed has averaged 3.11 percent. This week’s rate is 0.07 percentage points lower than the 52-week average.
- The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 2.30 percent from 2.35 percent.
- The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.40 percent from 3.50 percent.
- The 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgage rose to 3.25 percent from 3.24 percent.
At the current 30-year fixed rate, you’ll pay $423.76 each month for every $100,000 you borrow, unchanged from last week..
At the current 15-year fixed rate, you’ll pay $657.42 each month for every $100,000 you borrow, down from $659.75 last week.
At the current 5/1 ARM rate, you’ll pay $443.48 each month for every $100,000 you borrow, down from $449.04 last week.
Results of Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey of large lenders conducted July 28, 2021 and the effect on monthly payments for a $165,000 loan:
| Breakdown | 30-year fixed | 15-year fixed | 5-year ARM |
|---|---|---|---|
| This week’s rate: | 3.04% | 2.30% | 3.40% |
| Change from last week: | N/C | -0.05 | -0.10 |
| Monthly payment: | $699.21 | $1,084.74 | $731.74 |
| Change from last week: | N/C | -$3.85 | -$9.18 |
Where mortgage rates are headed
Mortgage experts expect rates to keep falling, or to remain at current levels. In Bankrate’s survey this week (July 29-Aug. 4), half said rates will fall in the coming week. Just 30 percent say rates will stay the same, and 20 percent predicted rates will rise.
“While the economy has been improving, we still aren’t where we’d like to be, but we’re a lot further down the road to recovery,” says Jim Sahnger of C2 Financial Corp. in Jupiter, Florida. “Much is dependent on the progress of containing COVID, and with the Delta variant causing a lot of problems, time will tell where we land.”
Few things about the post-COVID economy have turned out quite as expected. The mortgage market continues to defy predictions that rates will start a slow-but-sure climb.
“Mortgage rates remain historically low and are supporting a strong rebound in refinance activity,” says Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “MBA expects that a taper of asset purchases, and somewhat higher mortgage rates, are to come in the second half of the year.”
Refinances are a great deal with rates this low
Rates are a cut above the record lows reached earlier this year, but refinancing remains a historically excellent deal. While the rate on 10-year bonds issued by the U.S. government had hovered around 1.5 percent in the spring, it was down to the 1.3 percent range in recent days. The 10-year Treasury is closely tied to 30-year mortgage rates.
Despite the week-to-week ebbs and flows, economists generally expect rates to rise by the end of 2021. As mortgage rates make a predicted slow climb to the 3.5 percent range by year’s end, decreased purchasing power might ease some of the pressure on home prices as marginal buyers are pushed out of the market, but competition will still be intense among those who can still afford to buy. Those looking to refinance should be able to find good deals for the rest of the year, though at rates at bit higher than the current level.
The bottom line: If you see a rate that fits your needs and budget, it may be time to do that refinance now.
The Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders is conducted weekly. To conduct the National Average survey, Bankrate obtains rate information from the 10 largest banks and thrifts in 10 large U.S. markets. In the Bankrate.com national survey, our Market Analysis team gathers rates and/or yields on banking deposits, loans and mortgages. We’ve conducted this survey in the same manner for more than 30 years, and because it’s consistently done the way it is, it gives an accurate national apples-to-apples comparison. Our rates differ from other national surveys, in particular Freddie Mac’s weekly published rates. Each week Freddie Mac surveys lenders on the rates and points based on first-lien prime conventional conforming home purchase mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. “Lenders surveyed each week are a mix of lender types – thrifts, credit unions, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies – is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide,” according to Freddie Mac.
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