Mortgage Rates See First Increase Since March

For the first time since March, mortgage rates have gone up last week, mostly as a result of the jobless rate and the stock market’s milestone.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.52% two weeks ago to 3.6% last week, according to Bankrate.com. The mortgages in last week’s survey had an average total of 0.31 discount and origination points.

Although the 30-year fixed was up last week, it was lower than it was five weeks ago at 3.64%, a year ago at 4.02% and this year’s record high of 3.85%. According to Bankrate.com, a monthly payment for a $165,000 loan last week would be $750.16, compared to $742.77 the week before.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate shot up from 2.75% two weeks ago to 2.82% last week, Bankrate.com reported. A payment for a $165,000 loan went up by $5.50 to $1,125.23. The 5/1 adjustable rate rose slightly to 2.64% from 2.63%. That means the monthly mortgage payment would be $664.02 — an increase of only 86 cents.

Mortgage rates increased based on last month’s jobs reports. The Department of Labor reported that the economy added 165,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate fell from 7.6% to 7.5%. While the jobs report should spark consumer confidence, many prospective homeowners are concerned that mortgage rates would increase even further. Economists insist that, despite the increase, these rates are still below record lows.

Another reason for the climb in mortgage rates was the stock market: for the first time, the Dow finished above 15,000.

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