Bankrate: A Topsy-Turvy Week for Mortgage Rates

Fixed mortgage rates posted a slight decrease in a wild up-and-down week, with the average conforming 30- year fixed mortgage rate now 6.32 percent. According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders, the average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.39 discount and origination points.

The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage popular for refinancing dipped to 5.79 percent, while the average jumbo 30-year fixed rate held at 7.43 percent. Adjustable mortgage rates were mixed, with the average one-year ARM sliding to 5.47 percent, and the average 5/1 ARM rising to 5.72 percent.

Although fixed mortgage rates posted a slight decline week-over-week, it was a real roller coaster ride along the way. The average 30-year fixed rate was 6.41 percent last week, and after falling near 6 percent on Feb. 29, came boomeranging back in the first few days of March. Rates for adjustable mortgages increased, narrowing the gap between fixed and adjustable rates that had expanded the four previous weeks. The volatility in fixed mortgage rates can be pegged to economic uncertainty and worries about the health of bond insurers that guarantee payments to mortgage bond investors. A sharp stock market selloff to close out February helped push mortgage rates lower but that quickly gave way to renewed concerns among mortgage investors about the certainty of their income streams. The resulting higher risk premium has mortgage rates at a spread above risk-free Treasury notes that rivals the largest seen in 2002 and 1998, two periods of notable mortgage market volatility.

The mortgage rate winds can change direction quickly. Five weeks ago, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 5.57 percent, meaning that a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,144.38. Now that the average conforming 30-year fixed rate is 6.32 percent, the same $200,000 loan carries a monthly payment of $1,240.55.

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 6.32% -- down from 6.41% last week (avg. points: 0.39)

15-year fixed: 5.79% -- down from 5.87% last week (avg. points: 0.38)

5/1 ARM: 5.72% -- up from 5.68% last week (avg. points: 0.40)

Bankrate's national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets.

For a full analysis of this week's move in mortgage rates, go to http://www.bankrate.com/mortgagerates

The survey is complemented by Bankrate's weekly forward-looking Rate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts which way the rates are headed over the next 30 to 45 days. More than half of the panelists, 54 percent, see mortgage rates moving higher in the weeks to come. The remainder are split, with just 18 percent expecting rates to decline and 28 percent saying mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged in the coming 30 to 45 days.

For the full mortgage Rate Trend Index, go to http://www.bankrate.com/RTI

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate, Inc. (NASDAQ:RATE) ('Bankrate') owns and operates Bankrate.com, a leading Internet consumer banking marketplace. Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance channels, including banking, investing, taxes, debt management and college finance. Bankrate.com is the leading aggregator of more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate.com reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in 575 markets in 50 states. In 2007, Bankrate.com had nearly 60 million unique visitors. Bankrate.com provides financial applications and information to a network of more than 75 partners, including Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) , America Online (NYSE:TWX) , The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) . Bankrate.com's information is also distributed through more than 450 national and state publications. In addition to Bankrate.com, Bankrate also owns and operates Bankrate Select, an Internet lead aggregator and Mortgage Market Information Services, Inc. and Interest.com, Inc., each of which publishes mortgage guides and financial rates and information; Nationwide Card Services, which markets a comprehensive line of consumer and business credit cards via the Internet; and Savingforcollege.com, the premier Internet destination for objective information about 529 college savings plans.

For more information contact:
Kayleen J. Keneally
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
kkeneally@bankrate.com
(917) 368-8677

NOTE TO EDITORS: The information contained in this release is available for print or broadcast with attribution to Bankrate.com

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040122/FLTHLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Bankrate, Inc.

CONTACT: Kayleen J. Keneally, Senior Director, Corporate Communications,
+1-917-368-8677, kkeneally@bankrate.com

Web site: http://www.bankrate.com/
http://www.bankrate.com/mortgagerates