30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rates Show Slight Rise

By Liz Clinger Updated on 5/29/2012

According to a report by the FHFA, conventional 30-year fixed mortgage rates of $417,000 or less rose to 4.21% or 9 basis points in April. The report by the Federal Housing Finance Agency is based on 30-45 days before a loan closes, which means it reflects the market from the middle to late March but on loans that closed in late April.

The combination of all fixed and adjustable rate mortgages reached 3.93% in April, up 4 basis points from March’s 3.89%, though the FHFA claims that the sample size for adjustable rate mortgages is “insufficient.”

The effective interest rate which includes amortization with initial fees and charges rose 10 basis points from March’s 3.93% to 4.03% in April. The initial fees and charges represented 0.9% of the loan balance in April, which fell 3 basis points from March.

The average mortgage term stayed at 27.3 years, and average loan-to-price ratio went up 0.5% to 75.3%.

Average loan amounts in April also went up from March, from $247,100 to $256,200 in April.