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O.C. Mortgage Rates on the Rise
Mortgage rates have bounced around the past two weeks, with brokers in Orange County quoting rates Thursday in the range of 5 percent to 5.6 percent.
Jeff Lazerson, head of online brokerage Mortgage Grader in Laguna Niguel, said the lowest rates on a 30-year fixed-rate loan were 5.125 percent and 4.875 percent with a one-point fee.
Paul Scheper, vice president of Trust One Mortgage, said he saw rates closer to 5.25 percent Thursday.
And Jeff Altman, a partner with brokerage WestCal Mortgage Corp. in Orange, said Thursday was another crazy day with two to three mid-day changes in rates, with quotes as high as 5.625 percent with no points on a 30-year fixed-rate loan and 5.375 percent with a one-point fee.
“The rates have just gone to heck,” said Altman. “I haven’t seen volatility like this is in so long.”
Nationally, the average for fixed U.S. mortgage rates over the past week jumped to the highest level this year, Bloomberg News reported, saying the Federal Reserve’s plan to lower borrowing costs has stalled.
The average 30-year rate rose to 5.29 from 4.91 percent a week earlier, Freddie Mac, the McLean, Va.-based mortgage buyer, said. The last time the rate was higher was Dec. 11, when it was 5.47 percent. The average 15-year rate rose to 4.79 percent from 4.53 percent.
“That’s quite a jump,” said Donald Rissmiller, chief economist at New York-based Strategas Research Partners.
“The more rates go up, the more we need home prices to go down to equalize consumers’ payments,” he said. “It’s those payments that have brought about a level of stability in housing unit sales.”
Some economists say rates, which are still low by historical standards, are rising now as investors become more concerned about inflation.
By MATHEW PADILLA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER 06/05/09
Jeff Lazerson, head of online brokerage Mortgage Grader in Laguna Niguel, said the lowest rates on a 30-year fixed-rate loan were 5.125 percent and 4.875 percent with a one-point fee.
Paul Scheper, vice president of Trust One Mortgage, said he saw rates closer to 5.25 percent Thursday.
And Jeff Altman, a partner with brokerage WestCal Mortgage Corp. in Orange, said Thursday was another crazy day with two to three mid-day changes in rates, with quotes as high as 5.625 percent with no points on a 30-year fixed-rate loan and 5.375 percent with a one-point fee.
“The rates have just gone to heck,” said Altman. “I haven’t seen volatility like this is in so long.”
Nationally, the average for fixed U.S. mortgage rates over the past week jumped to the highest level this year, Bloomberg News reported, saying the Federal Reserve’s plan to lower borrowing costs has stalled.
The average 30-year rate rose to 5.29 from 4.91 percent a week earlier, Freddie Mac, the McLean, Va.-based mortgage buyer, said. The last time the rate was higher was Dec. 11, when it was 5.47 percent. The average 15-year rate rose to 4.79 percent from 4.53 percent.
“That’s quite a jump,” said Donald Rissmiller, chief economist at New York-based Strategas Research Partners.
“The more rates go up, the more we need home prices to go down to equalize consumers’ payments,” he said. “It’s those payments that have brought about a level of stability in housing unit sales.”
Some economists say rates, which are still low by historical standards, are rising now as investors become more concerned about inflation.
By MATHEW PADILLA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER 06/05/09
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