Mortgage Rates News

Applications Decline

Home-loan applications for purchases have declined 14 percent since the start of May when interest rates surged by the most in two decades, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and price appreciation has slowed, albeit from the fastest pace in seven years.

The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate purchase loan has risen to 4.51 percent from a record-low 3.31 percent in November, according to McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac, as the Federal Reserve said it’s planning to wean the economy from its record stimulus.

Higher rates mean that on a $400,000 conventional mortgage, monthly payments would be about $275 more. Rates on jumbo mortgages, those too big for government programs, have climbed to 4.69 percent from 3.88 percent at the beginning of May.

Some jumbo borrowers have stepped back from the market or turned to adjustable-rate mortgages with payments that rise only after five years to keep payments low, according to Brian Koss, executive vice president of Mortgage Network Inc., a Danvers, Massachusetts-based lender that originates loans primarily in the Northeast.

The Maryland mortgage interest rate on August 30, 2013, is down 14 basis points from last week's average Maryland rate of 4.51%.

“Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed”