Actions by The Bank of Japan will Help Force Mortgage Rates Lower in the United States

Current actions by The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will help force mortgage rates in the United States lower. The BOJ has started down an unprecedented path of stimulus by announcing their plan to purchase more than ¥100 trillion of Japanese government debt over the next two years. As a result of the BOJ's actions, investors are retreating from the Japanese bond market and looking for higher yields elsewhere in Europe and the United States.

Investors have been purchasing long term U.S. Treasuries which is sending yields lower. When bond prices rise because of investor demand, bond yields move lower. Since the BOJ announced their plans last week, 10 year Treasury yields have fallen from 1.85 percent down to 1.70 percent and have since bounced back to 1.75 percent today. Over the past week both conforming and jumbo mortgage rates have also fallen.

Mortgage rates today on 30 year conforming loans are averaging 3.56 percent, a decline from last week's average 30 year mortgage rate of 3.65 percent. The recent high for average 30 year rates was 3.86 percent just a few weeks ago. Overall, average rates are expected to stay within current levels and will remain under 4.00 percent for the entire year. The forecast is for higher average 30 year mortgage rates in the coming year but rates will also remain under 4.50 percent for all of 2014.

Loan Type

Purchase Refinance with Cash out Refinance

State

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

FICO Score

Superior (780-850) Exceptional (760-779) Excellent (740-759) Very Good (720-739) Good (700-719) Above Average (680-699) Average (660-679) Fair (640-659) Need Improvement (620-639) Poor (350-620)

Loan Amount

$

Points

Up to 0 points Up to 0.5 points Up to 1 points Up to 1.5 points Up to 2 points Up to 2.5 points Up to 3 points

LTV

%

Loan Term

 15-Year Fixed  20-Year Fixed  30-Year Fixed  5-Year ARM  7-Year ARM  10-Year ARM

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The lenders whose rates and other terms appear on this chart are ICB's advertising partners. They provide their rate information to our data partner RateUpdate.com. Unless adjusted by the consumer, advertisers are sorted by APR from lowest to highest. For any advertising partners that do not provide their rate they are listed in advertisement display units at the bottom of the chart. Advertising partners may not pay to improve the frequency priority or prominence of their display. The interest rates, annual percentage rates and other terms advertised here are estimates provided by those advertising partners based on the information you entered above and do not bind. Any lender Monthly payment amounts stated do not include amounts for taxes and insurance premiums. The actual payment obligation will be greater if taxes and insurance are included. Although our data partner RateUpdate.com collects the information from the financial institutions themselves, the accuracy of the data cannot be guaranteed. Rates may change without notice and can change intraday. Some of the information contained in the rate tables including but not limited to special marketing notes is provided directly by the lenders. Please verify the rates and offers before applying for a loan with the financial institution themselves. No rate is binding until locked by a lender.

Lender

APR / Rate

Fees / Points

Payment

NMLS #1981224

5.300%

15-Year Fixed

5.000%

$7,944

Includes 0.986 points for $3,944

Lender Fees: $4,000

$3,164 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

5.631%

15-Year Fixed

5.490%

$3,676

Includes 0.744 points for $2,976

Lender Fees: $700

$3,267 /mo

Next >

NMLS #757416

5.637%

15-Year Fixed

5.490%

$3,820

Includes 0.955 points for $3,820

Lender Fees: $0

$3,267 /mo

Next >

NMLS #613839

5.680%

15-Year Fixed

5.490%

$4,955

Includes 0.767 points for $3,068

Lender Fees: $1,887

$3,267 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2273319

License: CA-DOC902467

5.681%

15-Year Fixed

5.500%

$4,722

Includes 0.658 points for $2,632

Lender Fees: $2,090

$3,269 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1701910

5.808%

15-Year Fixed

5.750%

$1,490

Includes 0.000 points for $0

Lender Fees: $1,490

$3,322 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1981224

6.057%

5-Year ARM

5.875%

$7,880

Includes 0.970 points for $3,880

Lender Fees: $4,000

$2,367 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

6.214%

15-Year Fixed

6.000%

$5,495

Includes 0.875 points for $3,500

Lender Fees: $1,995

$3,376 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1981224

6.312%

30-Year Fixed

6.125%

$8,000

Includes 1.000 points for $4,000

Lender Fees: $4,000

$2,431 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2473786

6.483%

30-Year Fixed

6.375%

$4,539

Includes 0.861 points for $3,444

Lender Fees: $1,095

$2,496 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2561451

6.484%

30-Year Fixed

6.375%

$4,671

Includes 0.669 points for $2,676

Lender Fees: $1,995

$2,496 /mo

Next >

NMLS #757416

6.577%

30-Year Fixed

6.490%

$3,624

Includes 0.906 points for $3,624

Lender Fees: $0

$2,526 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

6.599%

30-Year Fixed

6.490%

$4,548

Includes 0.962 points for $3,848

Lender Fees: $700

$2,526 /mo

Next >

NMLS #613839

6.610%

30-Year Fixed

6.490%

$5,019

Includes 0.783 points for $3,132

Lender Fees: $1,887

$2,526 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2273319

License: CA-DOC902467

6.646%

5-Year ARM

6.500%

$6,086

Includes 0.999 points for $3,996

Lender Fees: $2,090

$2,529 /mo

Next >

NMLS #399799

6.719%

30-Year Fixed

6.625%

$4,032

Includes 0.676 points for $2,704

Lender Fees: $1,328

$2,562 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2273319

License: CA-DOC902467

6.741%

30-Year Fixed

6.625%

$4,818

Includes 0.682 points for $2,728

Lender Fees: $2,090

$2,562 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

6.746%

30-Year Fixed

6.625%

$4,995

Includes 0.750 points for $3,000

Lender Fees: $1,995

$2,562 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1701910

6.786%

30-Year Fixed

6.750%

$1,490

Includes 0.000 points for $0

Lender Fees: $1,490

$2,595 /mo

Next >

Rate data provided by RateUpdate.com. Displayed by ICB, a division of Mortgage Research Center, NMLS #1907, Equal Housing Opportunity. Payments do not include taxes and insurance premiums. Actual payments will be greater with taxes and insurance included. Rate and product details.

Average 30 year jumbo mortgage rates this week are averaging 3.96 percent, down from last week's average 30 year jumbo mortgage rate of 4.12 percent. Another factor that sent average mortgage interest rates lower this past week was a disappointing unemployment report which showed 88,000 jobs were created in March, lower than the expected number of 200,000.

15 year conventional mortgage rates are also lower this week, averaging 2.78 percent, down from last week's average 15 year rate of 2.91 percent. For the 2013 year, average 15 year rates are expected to remain under 3.10 percent. Average 15 year jumbo mortgage rates today are at 3.34 percent, a decline from last week's average 15 year jumbo rate of 3.51 percent. For 2013, 15 year jumbo rates are expected to remain under 3.75 percent.

If you're thinking about refinancing a 30 year mortgage, you should give serious consideration to a 15 year loan. Depending on your loan amount, you can save tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in mortgage interest by refinancing to a 15 year loan.

Another reason to consider a 15 year loan is that 15 year rates are always lower than 30 year rates. The lowest 15 year conforming refinance rates currently available are around 2.25 percent with points. Compare those rates to the lowest 30 year conforming refinance rates which can be found as low as 3.00 percent you can see the rate benefit of a 15 year loan vs. a 30 year loan.

The same is true for jumbo rates, the lowest 30 year jumbo refinance rates available right now are at 3.50 percent with points. The lowest 15 year jumbo refi rates are at 2.75 percent with points. The only drawback to choosing a 15 year loans instead of a 30 year loans is the monthly mortgage payments will be higher, but if you can afford the higher payments a 15 year loan is the smart choice.