Bankrate, Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates move higher
By Palm Beach Business.com
DELRAY BEACH — Well what do you know? Mortgage rates can move higher. At least a little bit.
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey found the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate moving up this week to 4.35 percent with 0.7 point, up from last week’s 4.32 percent.
Bankrate’s national mortgage survey spotted the 30-year at 4.58 percent with 0.37 point, up from 4.54 percent a week ago. and the 5-year adjustable rose slightly, other rates remained flat or fell lower.
Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft cited the mixed message sent out by last week’s national jobs report for the upward movement.
"While overall employment was down in August, private non-farm payrolls rose more than the market consensus forecast, and the prior two months' employment figures were revised up,” Nothaft said. “This somewhat sanguine report had a mixed effect on mortgage rates this week, with the 30-year fixed rate nudged up but the 15-year fixed rate unchanged. Pending sales of existing homes rebounded in July, a hopeful sign that existing home sales picked up toward the end of summer."
Said Bankrate: The August jobs report wasn't stellar, but it wasn't as dour as expected, and this was a catalyst for investors to move into riskier assets. In doing so, investors sold safe-haven Treasury securities, to which mortgage rates are closely related. The path of mortgage rates will be determined largely by investors' sentiment about whether the economy is getting better or worse, and will continue to yo-yo up and down amid conflicting economic readings.
Bankrate’s panel of mortgage experts continues to see rates basically staying right where they are in the short term.
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