Record Low Mortgage Rates Should Be Even Lower Analysts Say

There was an interesting article in the New York Times DealBook section on banks offering mortgage rates higher than where they should be. We have all seen the headlines of record low mortgage rates and refinance rates week after week. Conforming mortgage rates and jumbo mortgage rates are all just above record lows today.

In the NYT's article "With Rates Low, Banks Increase Mortgage Profit" 30 year rates should be around 3.05 percent instead of 3.55 percent if banks were satisfied with the profits they made just a few years ago on underwriting mortgage loans. Current mortgage rates on 30 year conforming mortgage loans are averaging 3.61 percent in Bankrate's national mortgage rate survey.

Mortgage loan providers acknowledge that they are making a ton of money right now from mortgage loans. They also say they can't afford to lower mortgage rates even more because of the higher expenses resulting from stiffer regulations.

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 #2578474

5.389%

15-Year Fixed

5.250%

$3,650

Includes 0.650 points for $2,600

Lender Fees: $1,050

$3,216 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2059741

5.510%

15-Year Fixed

5.375%

$3,520

Includes 0.880 points for $3,520

Lender Fees: $0

$3,242 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

5.632%

15-Year Fixed

5.490%

$3,688

Includes 0.747 points for $2,988

Lender Fees: $700

$3,267 /mo

Next >

NMLS #6606

5.767%

15-Year Fixed

5.625%

$3,696

Includes 0.924 points for $3,696

Lender Fees: $0

$3,295 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2578474

6.360%

30-Year Fixed

6.250%

$4,650

Includes 0.900 points for $3,600

Lender Fees: $1,050

$2,463 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2059741

6.548%

30-Year Fixed

6.490%

$2,412

Includes 0.603 points for $2,412

Lender Fees: $0

$2,526 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

6.597%

30-Year Fixed

6.490%

$4,460

Includes 0.940 points for $3,760

Lender Fees: $700

$2,526 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

6.758%

30-Year Fixed

6.625%

$5,495

Includes 0.875 points for $3,500

Lender Fees: $1,995

$2,562 /mo

Next >

NMLS #6606

6.823%

30-Year Fixed

6.740%

$3,392

Includes 0.848 points for $3,392

Lender Fees: $0

$2,592 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

7.764%

15-Year Fixed

7.500%

$6,500

Includes 0.625 points for $2,500

Lender Fees: $4,000

$3,709 /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.

This answer isn't a surprise since industry always blames government regulation on higher prices. Well maybe if lenders didn't offer no doc loans and sub-prime loans during the housing bubble, marking those loans as investment grade and selling high risk bad loans to investors.

Investors including the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Saddling the GSEs with billions of dollars in loses to the point they needed a bailout from the government. Now both Fannie and Freddie are reporting strong profits on these stricter regulations.

While the big banks might not be offering 30 year loans as low as 3.00 percent there are lenders that are. Searching 30 year mortgage rates today on our rate lists there are two lenders offering 30 year conforming rates as low as 3.13 percent. Aimloan.com and Amerisave are both offering rates where they should be according to analysts in the NY Times article.