Mortgage rates have jumped more than half of a percent in the last week or so and continued to rise today. A number of factors in the markets are contributing to the rise. For now the days of mortgages at or below 5% appear to be gone. Now is the time to refinance if you have been thinking about it befor rates get back above 6% again.
Here are some quotes from a recent CNNmoney.com article on the subject:
Home mortgage rates jumped in the most recent week, pulled higher by rising Treasury yields, according to a report released Thursday.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.45% in the week ended Wednesday, up from 5.24% last week, according to a weekly national survey from Bankrate.com.
“Investors’ nerves were rattled by a potential General Motors bankruptcy and a week of substantial government borrowing,” which “agitated would-be bond investors,” the report said.
Mortgage rates move in tandem with Treasury yields. In particular, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate tracks the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield. In recent days, that benchmark yield has spiked to levels not seen since November 2008.
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Even as mortgage rates continue to rise, they still remain much lower than last year, when the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.20%, according to Bankrate.com.