The average mortgage rate jumped ten basis points during the week of the presidential inauguration, and prompted some lenders to speculate that rates will hit 5% by the summertime. The current 30-year fixed rate home loan stands at 4.19% with an average of 0.4 points (points are fees paid to a lender that are equal to 1 percent of the loan amount). A year ago, the same loan was just 3.79%. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage also increased to 3.40%, up 6 basis points from the previous week.
Bankrate.com’s popular Rate Trend Index predicts that rates will continue to rise in the following week. Polling a panel of experts in the mortgage field, Bankrate found that half of all lenders believe that mortgages will become more expensive in the upcoming days, whereas only 8% believe they will fall (42% predict they will remain unchanged).
