Having ticked down to 4.29 percent at the beginning of July, last week the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage ticked up to 4.51 percent for conforming loans on speculation that the Federal Reserve will reduce future bond purchases following June’s strong employment report.
That being said, while the majority of the Federal Open Market Committee participants have shown support for ending the Feds bond buying program by the end of the year, yesterday Ben Bernanke reiterated his commitment to the program which was engineered to keep rates low “for the foreseeable future.”
Meanwhile, while the advertised rate for a conforming 30-year loan at Wells Fargo has ticked up from 4.5 to 4.625 percent over the past week, the rate for a Jumbo 30-year loan of over $625,500 in San Francisco is still 4.5 percent as of this morning, a discount of 0.125 percentage points to the rate for smaller conforming loans versus a historical premium.
∙ 14 Percent Raise Needed To Keep Pace As Mortgage Rates Rise [SocketSite]
∙ Mortgage Rates Continue Trending Higher [Freddie Mac]
∙ Premium For Going Big Is On The Decline, Cheaper In Some Cases [SocketSite]