Interest rates for buying a home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula remained level this week . The following are excerpts from the newsletter on interest rates published by HSH Associates :
"Largely backing and filling for almost all of the fall so far, 30-year fixed mortgage rates turned this week again to filling, with a small rise all but taking back two small declines over the past two weeks. While shorter-term mortgages such as 15-year FRMs or 5/1 ARMs have seen their rates leg higher during that period (to eight-month and more than six-year highs, respectively) 30-year FRMs have largely tread water, wobbling in a very narrow range, and haven't topped the 4 percent mark since a one-week flare back in July.
With the economy solid, the Fed reducing its balance sheet and poised to raise short-term rates another notch this coming week, it may not be long before the most popular U.S. mortgage more routinely features average rates with a "four handle". To be sure, it wouldn't take much of a bump from here to break over that threshold.
The year is rapidly coming to a close and there is a chance we won't crack the 4 percent mark for mortgages before it ends. That said, we're pretty close right now, just a handful of basis points below that level. The influential interest rates which underlie mortgages have been generally steady to firmer in the last couple of days, and with the Fed on tap for a move mid-week, we are likely to nudge a little closer to the "psychologically important" 4 percent breakpoint. With the rate hike already "baked in", any additional upward bump will have to come as a result of a measurable or notable change in policy outlooks, released as part of the "dot plots" that will accompany the close meeting. With six months of 3 percent plus growth in GDP, we think there is a chance that a member or two might have lifted their expectations for the coming year.
Of course, Freddie Mac's weekly survey will have largely been completed by late-day Wednesday, so any additional kicker for rates would not show until another week has passed. For now, we think that we'll see a two or three basis point increase in the average offered conforming 30-year FRM rate when Freddie reports next Thursday."
The following are interest rate quotes from John Alvin of American California Financial:
30 Yr Fixed FHA | ||||||
Rate | APR | |||||
3.375 | 4.506 |
Details |
Conforming 30 Yr Fixed up to $424,100 | ||||||
Rate | APR | |||||
3.875 | 3.994 |
Details |
Conforming Jumbo 30 Yr Fixed $424,101 - $636,150 | ||||||
Rate | APR | |||||
4.125 | 4.235 |
Details |
Jumbo 30 Yr. to $1.5 Mil | ||||||
Rate | APR | |||||
4.125 | 4.219 |
Details |
Jumbo 7/1 ARM $1.5 Mil (higher loan amt available) | ||||||
Rate | APR | |||||
3.625 | 3.688 |
Details |
For more information about Palos Verdes and South Bay Real Estate and buying and selling a home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com . I try to make this the best real estate web blog in the South Bay Los Angeles and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I would love to hear your comments or suggestions.