Mortgage rates take a breather as the Fed gets ready to meet

Mortgage Rates Take A Breather As Fed Gets Ready To Meet | Bankrate.com

Mortgage rates were virtually unchanged this week ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy meeting. The market seems to be waiting patiently to learn whether the central bank will finally raise the near-zero federal funds rate.

Bond yields move higher

Government bonds haven’t been getting as much attention lately, as investors took on more risk. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped from 2.19% Tuesday afternoon to 2.25% Wednesday morning before dropping again. Yields rise as bond prices fall.

There has been a slight uptick in mortgage rates over the past week or so while equities continue to show volatility, says Brett Sinnott, vice president of capital markets for CMG Financial in San Ramon, California.

“A lot of this is just the Fed rumble back and forth on whether or not they’re going to raise interest rates,” he says.

30 year fixed rate mortgage — 3 month trend

A look at this week’s rates

• The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged at 4.05%, according to Bankrate’s Sept. 9 survey of large lenders. A year ago, it was 4.27%. Four weeks ago, the rate was 4.04%. The mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.21 discount and origination points. Over the past 52 weeks, the 30-year fixed rate has averaged 4.01%. This week’s rate is 0.04 percentage points higher than the 52-week average.
• The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.23% from 3.22%.
• The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgage fell to 3.92% from 3.95%.
• The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 3.24% from 3.23%.