Current Rates
from bankrate.com - national interest rate news - 08/18/10
Mortgage rates continued their decline again this week.
The average benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was down by 2 basis points to 4.52 percent, with some lenders reporting rates as low as 4.25%, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point.
The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.44 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.97 percent; four weeks ago, it was 5.75 percent.
The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was down by 2 basis point to 3.94 percent, while the popular 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 3 points to 3.52%.
Note that the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 which extended the tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers and $6,500 for qualified repeat buyers expired at the end of April.
With the new Congressional extension, a home purchase completed by September 30, 2010 will qualify.
Beginning June 1, Fannie Mae will require lenders to check borrowers' credit reports right before closing. If the borrower took on a new credit obligation, the lender will have to recalculate the borrower's debt-to-income ratios.
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