Mortgage Interest Rates Decrease

[Apr 21, 2008.]

 

Since Friday, April 11, American home buyers have seen the interest rates for long-term mortgages go further and further down. In the meantime, the 10-year yield for United States Treasury bonds went down to only 3.47%.

How low did the interest rate for long-term mortgages during the course of the weekend? The average rate for a 30-year long fixed-rate mortgage is now only 5.62%. At the same time, the rate for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is as low as 5.21%

The yield rate for United States Treasury bonds went down across the board, as well. Not only the 10-year bond suffered a drop in its yield rate: the 30-year Treasury bond now—as of 7:15 Eastern Standard Time, April 14, 2008 - has a rate of yield as low as 4.3%.

Who has reported these startling findings? The findings are the result of research by financial website Bankrate.com. The website publicizes an average rate of interest for mortgages in America every night. The website makes a poll of 4,000 banks and other major lenders in 50 states across America. The average is calculated nightly.  The points on the mortgages that are surveyed have a range of 0 to 3.5.

At the same time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has started off the week by going down 256.56 points. That number amounts to 2.04%. The Dow Jones was at 12,325.42 at the end of Monday, April 14.

The Nasdaq decreased in point as well. The Nasdaq went down by 2.6%, which amounts to 61.46 points. As of 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday, April 14, 2008, the Nasdaq totals out at 2,290.24.

When will these dismal numbers turn around? Economists offer varying predictions, some optimistic, some less so. Some predict a recovery for the economy beginning with summer of 2008, others predict a major depression.