Mortgage rates have taken a significant drop to begin the week, the “fastest pace” of downward movement since February 25th according to Mortgage News Daily. The drop three weeks ago occurred after the Italian election stalemate raised concerns about the Euro zones bailout plan.
Today, the drop came after more shaky news out of Europe. Cyprus needs a bailout and as part of the plan, the country is including a tax on individual’s bank accounts. Drama out of Europe tends to result in lower mortgage rates in the U.S., as investors move into the safety of the U.S. bond market. For our briefing on how to track rate movement, see HERE.
For now, we urge borrowers to take advantage of the rate improvements. Such downward movement is hard to predict, and barring another major drama on the international scene, we are unsure when rates might again reach these low prices.
The 30-year fixed dropped by a 1/2 a point and we have adjusted the rate down to 3.250% (3.382% APR) from 3.375%. The 15-year fixed was also revised downward to 2.375% (2.614% APR) down from 2.500%. For a complete list of rates, see HERE.