The Washington Post - 16.11.2019

the washington post

.

saturday, november 16, 2019

EZ

6

have been a prime mover of mort-

gage rates lately. The recent posi-

tive developments in these talks

are reflected in t he uptick in r ates.

“Trade talks between the U.S.

and China have been warming,

and reports that they had agreed

to cancel some tariffs drove bond

yields, and thus mortgage rates,

higher,” said Matthew Speakman,

a Zillow economist. “Those agree-

ments were l ater walked back, but

yields retreated only slightly as

investors remained hopeful that

the talks were progressing, albeit

somewhat e rratically.”

The yield on the 1 0-year Treasury

— the most closely watched mea-

sure for mortgage rates — dropped

to 1.88 percent Wednesday after

rising to 1.94 p ercent on Nov. 8.

Bankrate.com, which puts o ut a

weekly m ortgage rate trend index,

found that more than half of the

experts it surveyed say rates will

remain about t he same in the c om-

ing week. Logan Mohtashami, se-

nior loan officer at AMC Lending

Group in Irvine, Calif., expects

rates to hold steady but says up-

coming economic data or trade or

political news may cause some

volatility.

“Keep a watchful eye on global

and domestic PMI data,”

Mohtashami s aid. “Any news from

the trade war tap dance and im-

peachment hearings might move

yields and the market in the short

term.”

Meanwhile, refinances caused

mortgage a pplications to shoot up

to their highest level in more than

a month. According to the latest

data from the Mortgage Bankers

Association, the market compos-

ite index — a measure of total loan

application volume — increased

9.6 percent from a week earlier.

The refinance index climbed 13

percent, while the purchase index

grew 5 percent.

The refinance share of mort-

gage activity accounted for 61.9

percent of all applications.

“With less t han two months l eft

in 2019, home buyer demand —

especially at the entry-level seg-

ment o f the market — continues to

be supported by a healthy econo-

my, solid hiring and low m ortgage

rates,” said Bob Broeksmit, MBA

president a nd C EO.

The MBA also r eleased i ts mort-

gage credit availability index

(MCAI) this week, which showed

credit a vailability increased in Oc-

tober. The MCAI rose 0.9 percent

to 185.1 last month. An increase in

the MCAI indicates lending stan-

dards are loosening, while a de-

crease signals they are tightening.

“Mortgage credit availability

expanded in October, driven main-

ly by an increase in conventional

loan programs, including more for

borrowers with lower credit s cores,

as well as for investors and second

home loans,” s aid Joel Kan, a n MBA

economist. “Credit supply for gov-

ernment mortgages continued to

lag, declining for the sixth straight

month. Meanwhile, the jumbo

credit index increased 3 percent to

another survey-high, as that seg-

ment of the market stays resilient

despite s igns of a slowing economy.”

[email protected]

Mortgage Rates

BY KATHY ORTON

After a short-lived retreat,

mortgage rates resumed their rise

this week.

According to the latest data re-

leased Thursday by Freddie Mac,

the 30-year fixed-rate average

climbed to 3.75 percent with an

average 0.6 point. (Points are fees

paid to a lender equal to 1 percent

of the loan amount and are in

addition to the interest rate.) It

was 3.69 percent a week ago and

4.94 percent a year ago. The 30-

year f ixed a verage h as risen f our of

the past five w eeks.

The 15-year fixed-rate average

jumped to 3.2 percent with an

average 0.5 point. It was 3.13 per-

cent a week ago and 4 .36 percent a

year ago. The five-year adjustable

rate average rose to 3.44 percent

with an average 0.4 point. It was

3.39 percent a week ago and 4.14

percent a year ago.

“The modest uptick in mort-

gage rates over the last two

months reflects declining reces-

sion fears and a more sanguine

outlook for the global economy,”

Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief

economist, said in a s tatement.

U. S.-China trade discussions

Figures move higher on

encouraging trade activity

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Source: Freddie Mac

Weekly averages for

popular mortgage types

3.20

THE WASHINGTON POST

6%

4

5

3

2

1

’18 ’19

3.75

30-YEAR FIXED

15-YEAR FIXED

5-YEAR ARM

3.44

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