RIS Media

20 March 2012

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow(R) Mortgage Marketplace is currently 3.97 percent, up 23 basis points from 3.74 percent at this same time last week.

This signifies the highest rate recorded on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace in the last five months. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate steadily rose for the majority of the week, dropping to 3.9 percent on Monday. The rate briefly reached to 4 percent late Monday night before falling to the current rate early this morning.

“Mortgage rates hit 4 percent for the first time in five months after a collection of positive news. The Federal Reserve delivered a better assessment of the economy and reduced speculation that the Fed would buy even more mortgage-backed securities, bank stress test results were more positive than many expected, and Greece’s second bailout plans appeared on track,” said Erin Lantz, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.

“Rate movement this coming week should help indicate whether we return to the even lower levels we’ve enjoyed for the past five months, or whether we’ve reached a new plateau,” said Lantz.

Zillow’s real-time mortgage rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers on the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace site, and reflect the most recent changes in the market. These are not marketing rates, or a weekly survey.

The rate for a 15-year fixed home loan is currently 3.16 percent, while the rate for a 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) is 2.85 percent.

Below are current rates for 30-year fixed mortgages by state.

Additional states’ rates are available at http://www.zillow.com/mortgage-rates.