Mortgage rates in the US fell for the third week in a row, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate falling to the lowest level in more than six months, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has a rate of 4.09%, the lowest since November 16th 2016, and an average of 0.25 discount and origination points.

The larger jumbo 30-year fixed slid to 4.02%, and the average 15-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 3.31%, also the lowest since mid-November. Adjustable mortgage rates were mixed, with the 5-year ARM inching down to 3.41% while the 7-year ARM nosed higher to 3.60%.

Between inflation rates stalling out, consumer spending softening and ongoing questions about a White House scandal and its implications for policy initiatives, there is just enough uncertainty to keep bond yields and mortgage rates on a downward trajectory. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds, which appeal to investors any time uncertainty, or low inflation, is in the air. With a looming employment report for the month of May, investors will be looking for some confirmation of more robust economic activity in the current quarter than the anemic 1.2% annualized pace of growth in the first three months of the year.

At the current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 4.09%, the monthly payment for a $200,000 loan is $965.24.
30-year fixed: 4.09% -- down from 4.13% last week (avg. points: 0.23)
15-year fixed: 3.31% -- down from 3.32% last week (avg. points: 0.22)
5/1 ARM: 3.41% -- down from 3.42% last week (avg. points: 0.30)

(Source: Bankrate)

Mortgage rates in the US were only slightly changed this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching higher to 4.30%, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.26 discount and origination points.

The larger jumbo 30-year fixed also nosed higher, to 4.23%, while the average 15-year fixed mortgage rate held steady at 3.49%. Adjustable mortgage rates were also subdued, with the 7-year ARM holding at 3.68% and the 10-year ARM slipping to 3.85%.

Mortgage rates were in a holding pattern, along with seemingly everyone and everything else as legislative gridlock in Washington reasserted itself. Skepticism in financial markets has increased about the ability for meaningful tax reform or infrastructure spending to materialize in the near term, holding bond yields and mortgage rates in check. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds. But the continued trend of solid economic data could begin to offset this and push mortgage rates higher in the week ahead.

At the current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 4.30%, the monthly payment for a $200,000 loan is $989.74.

Survey results

30-year fixed: 4.30% -- up from 4.29% last week (avg. points: 0.26)

15-year fixed: 3.49% -- unchanged from last week (avg. points: 0.22)

5/1 ARM: 3.49% -- up from 3.44% last week (avg. points: 0.29)

The survey is complemented by Bankrate's weekly Rate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts which way the rates are headed over the next seven days. The majority of panelists, 64%, expect mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged in the coming week. The remainder are evenly split, with 18% predicting an increase and 18% forecasting a decline in mortgage rates over the next week.

(Source: Bankrate.com)