Average interest rates for all mortgage types steadied themselves during the final month of January with declines across the board following a week of increased rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey released by the MBA on Wednesday for the week ending January 29 found that the average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased slightly by 0.01 percentage points to hit 5.01 percent. The decrease mostly offset the 0.02 percentage point increase seen one week earlier.
The average interest rate for 15-year FRMs also decreased by 0.01 percentage point, falling to 4.33 percent for the week. The decrease made up for the previous week’s 0.01 percentage point increase.
"Mortgage application volume rebounded last week, returning the purchase and refinance indexes to levels from mid-December," said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics. "Rates continue to hover around 5 percent, quite low by historical standards, but are well above the record lows seen in 2009, and hence are not generating substantial refi volume.
As for short-term rates, one-year adjustable-rate mortgages saw the biggest decline of the week as they fell by 0.14 percentage points to 6.7 for the week. The decline more than made up for the 0.12 percentage point increase seen the week prior.
