Whats Happening Today with Mortgage Rates 8/12/2011

Posted by Jason Wheeler | Fully Follow Me | Subscribe

Volatility shakes out the week of 8/12/2011 in the Mortgage Markets.

Rates on all loans are lower than they were this time last week What do you think is the long term trend in mortgages?

Chart from Investools.com

Here’s the weekly report according to the Wall Street Journal

Mortgage rates continued to slide this week and could be heading below 4%, some analysts say, which would be the lowest on record.

For the week ended Thursday, the 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 4.32%, according to a Freddie Mac survey, and borrowers paid "points," or origination fees, equivalent to an average 0.7% of the loan amount. At current levels, mortgage rates are back near the 50-year lows set last fall.

————————————————————–

SF Gate Says… Fixed mortgage rates fell to at or near record lows. That’s good news for the few who can afford to buy a home or are able to refinance. But the rates have done little to lift the ailing housing market.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.32 percent this week from 4.39 percent. The 30-year loan hit a record low of 4.17 percent in mid-November.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, fell to a record low of 3.50 percent, from last week’s record rate of 3.54 percent.

Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. A weakening U.S. economy has led many investors to shift money from stocks to bonds, which are seen as safer bets. That has pushed Treasury yields to historic lows.

In theory, low mortgage rates should provide a boost to the troubled housing market. But rates have been below 5 percent for nearly two years and haven’t helped home sales much. Rates on the 30-year fixed loan were near 6.5 percent five years ago and higher than 8 percent in 2000.

Read More from SF Gate Here

—————————————————————