Weekly mortgage rate information from Ted Gosnell at First Home Mortgage.
“Weaker than expected Retail Sales data and soothing comments by Fed Chief Bernanke put a positive influence on mortgage rates this week.
Last month Ben Bernanke’s roar about the easing of purchasing of Treasury Bonds and mortgage backed securities caused financial markets and mortgage rates to soar. But this week’s lamb like comments to Congress, caused those soaring interest rates to settle back a bit.
Government Mortgages (USDA, FHA & VA) have all settled back to about 4.25% for a thirty year fixed rate, with no points or origination fees; conventional thirty year fixed rates are almost back to 4.5%. Both are still a full percentage point higher than they were in May, but at least they seem to have stopped their ascend. All that said, it’s uncertain how long this reprieve might last, but it does seem certain that we’ve seen the last of 3% fixed rate mortgages.”