In a weekly survey of 20 Los Angeles and Orange County lenders, conducted by HSH Associates for the week ended 5/27/09, the average interest rate for conforming loans of less than $417,000 increased about two-tenths of a percentage point to 5.13% ( +.35 points), up from 4.93% (+.30 points) the previous week. Interest rates on loans over $417,000 increased even more, by approx. three-tenths of a percentage point.
The increase in interest rates, as speculated by HSH Associates, was “a combination of unclear goals in Federal Reserve quantitative easing programs, floods of new sovereign debt and shoddy treatment of GM bondholders.” “Yields on the influential 10-year Treasury bond had lifted by just over a half a percentage point in a few days’ time, rising from the low- to the upper-3% range and taking conforming fixed mortgage rates along for the ride. After standing at a familiar 5.03% on Tuesday, Conforming 30-year FRMs leapt to 5.29% on Wednesday and then 5.44% on Thursday before finally settling back some on Friday to 5.30%.” (Note, these are nationwide averages ).
HSH associates concludes ” After an unexpected flare higher this week, mortgage rates should settle back, with a probably decline of perhaps 10 basis points. The improvement in conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgages at week’s end should hold, leaving us perhaps a quarter-percentage point above Spring lows.”
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