The 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose 5 basis points, to 6.05 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 8 basis points, to 6.24 percent.

The benchmark 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose 1 basis point, to 6 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 1 basis point, to 6.13 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 2 basis points, to 6.02 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 6 basis points, to 6.11 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage crept up 5 basis points, to 5.97 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage saw the biggest gain with a jump of 7 basis points to 6.12 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged at 5.93 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 4 basis points to 6.08 percent.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 1 basis point, to 6.19 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.3 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 6.45 percent; four weeks ago, it was 6.31 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage remained 5.95 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 1 basis point, to 6.04 percent.

The average 30-year rate has declined three weeks in a row and four of the last five weeks. It was 6.42 percent at the end of January and has dropped almost a quarter of a percentage point since then.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 9 basis points, to 5.95 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 12 basis points, to 6.03 percent. 

The benchmark 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell 11 basis points to 6.08 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 13 basis points to 6.17 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage hurdled the 6 percent mark for the first time since November, rising 5 basis points to 6.03 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 3 basis points to 6.2 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 3 basis points to 5.99 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 4 basis points to 6.15 percent.

The benchmark 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose 9 basis points, to 5.95 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 7 basis points, to 6.09 percent.

It was the first increase since Bankrate's Oct. 25 survey. In the meantime, rates fell six weeks in a row, from 6.46 percent in the Oct. 25 survey to 6.08 percent in Bankrate's Dec. 6 survey.

The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 3 basis points to 5.86 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 7 basis points to 6.02 percent.

Weekly Nat'l Mortgage Survey - Nov 29, 2006                      Source: Bankrate.com

Results of Bankrate.com's Nov. 29, 2006, weekly national survey of large lenders and the effect on monthly payments for a $400,000 loan:

The 30-year rate dropped to its lowest level since Jan. 25, when it was also 6.17 percent. One year ago, the mortgage index was 6.36 percent; four weeks ago, it was 6.31 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 5 basis points to 5.91 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage plummeted 10 basis points to 6.01 percent.

Weekly Nat'l Mortgage Survey - Nov 15, 2006                      Source: Bankrate.com

Results of Bankrate.com's Nov. 15, 2006, weekly national survey of large lenders and the effect on monthly payments for a $300,000 loan:

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged at 6.02 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 3 basis points to 6.16 percent. The 1-year ARM fell a basis point, to 5.91 percent.

Mortgage rates were about the only thing that didn't change much from week to week. There was a hefty surge in mortgage applications, plus that teeter-totter with the October jobs report sitting on one end and the equally weighty election results sitting on the other.

Weekly Nat'l Mortgage Survey - Oct 25, 2006                      Source: Bankrate.com

Results of Bankrate.com's Oct. 25, 2006, weekly national survey of large lenders and the effect on monthly payments for a $165,000 loan:

Putting smiles on home shoppers' faces was the Federal Reserve's decision to keep short-term rates steady. While mortgage rates are set by the market and, thus, don't respond directly to the Fed's rate moves, the central bank's decision should add a calming influence.

"The Fed's decision to pause and then to take no action over the last three meetings has brought a collective sigh of relief for homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages and home equity lines of credit," says Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. "They know that, at least in the interim, their payment will not change."

Overall prices include food and fuel. Core prices exclude food and fuel because those two commodities can jump up and down rapidly from month to month in response to bad weather, war and the vagaries of the markets. And that's what fuel prices did. Retail energy prices fell 7.2 percent in September, and wholesale energy prices fell 8.4 percent.

But when you strip out food and energy, prices were up. Core wholesale prices rose 0.6 percent in September after falling 0.4 percent in August. As for core retail prices, they went up 0.2 percent for the third month in a row. Core retail prices have risen 2.9 percent in the past year, which is considerably above the Fed's comfort zone of an inflation rate between 1 percent and 2 percent.

Weekly Nat'l Mortgage Survey - Oct 4, 2006                      Source: Bankrate.com

Results of Bankrate.com's Oct. 4, 2006, weekly national survey of large lenders and the effect on monthly payments for a $165,000 loan:

The bond market awaited Friday's release of the employment report for September. According to Briefing.com's survey of economists, the consensus on Wall Street is that the September unemployment rate will stay unchanged at 4.7 percent, and that the report will say nonfarm payrolls grew by 120,000 jobs. That wouldn't be an impressive pace of job growth, but it wouldn't be terrible, either. If the report says the economy grew by 150,000 or more jobs, mortgage rates would be likely to rise late this week and early next week.

The 30-year fixed peaked at 6.93 percent in Bankrate's June 28 survey, and it has run mostly downhill since. In the last 14 weeks, rates fell 10 times, remained the same once and rose three times. When you add those three upward blips together, they total 5 basis points. Rates have followed a long, steady downward slope, with three speed bumps.

Until last week. That's when refinance volume jumped 17.5 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Some 46.7 percent of mortgage applicants were homeowners who wished to refinance their home loans. The refinance share hadn't been that high in 19 months.

An MBA economist attributed the miniboom to the drop in interest rates. But there's a bit more to it than that. This is a good opportunity for homeowners to switch out of adjustable-rate mortgages and into fixed-rate loans.

"With long-term interest rates having fallen far and fast in recent weeks, a new refinance boom is well underway," says Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. "We've seen an increase in homeowners refinancing out of adjustable-rate mortgages on the verge of them resetting and out of fixed-rate mortgages that are in the mid- to high-6 percent range."

Weekly Nat'l Mortgage Survey - Sept 20, 2006                  Source: Bankrate.com

Results of Bankrate.com's Sept. 20, 2006, weekly national survey of large lenders and the effect on monthly payments for a $165,000 loan:

The central bank said that inflation is running higher than desired but that prices are likely to stabilize as the full effects of 17 straight rate increases take hold. But the Fed speculated that there is a greater risk of inflation rising than of the economy growing cold. The committee said it might have to raise rates again at some point, depending on the economic data that come in.

Following the Fed's announcement, yields on U.S. Treasuries moved in different directions. Rates on 30-year-fixed mortgages tend to move in the same direction as the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which closed down a couple of basis points Wednesday. A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point. Yields on two-year Treasuries moved up 2 basis points, while the five-year Treasury was unchanged.

The movement of Treasuries on Wednesday hints that the rate difference between the 30-year fixed and ARMs might continue to narrow. Six months ago, the rate on a 30-year fixed was 35 basis points higher than that of a 5/1 ARM (6.39 percent vs. 6.04 percent). This week, the difference is 25 basis points -- a spread that has been narrowing gradually all year.

The 30-year fixed has fallen nine of the last 12 weeks. Two weeks had minimal rises: 2 basis points the week of July 19 and 1 basis point the week of Aug. 29. Other than those two minor blips and this week's unchanged rate, the 30-year fixed has fallen for three months straight, ever since it reached this year's high of 6.93 percent.

Weekly Nat'l Mortgage Survey - Sept 13, 2006                  Source: Bankrate.com

Results of Bankrate.com's Sept. 13, 2006, weekly national survey of large lenders and the effect on monthly payments for a $165,000 loan:

Half-point drop
The benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell 1 basis point to 6.44 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.3 discount and origination points.

One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.76 percent, and four weeks ago, it was 6.51 percent. The 30-year benchmark has fallen in nine of the past 11 weeks. It was 6.93 percent June 28 -- almost half a percentage point higher.

The 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell 2 basis points to 6.12 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 5 basis points to 6.19 percent.

Yellen said a lot of things are supporting economic growth, and three things are exerting drag on the economy: rising energy prices, higher interest rates brought on by the Fed and what she called "the piggy-bank phenomenon."

In this case, the piggy bank is home equity. As house values zoomed over the past four years, homeowners felt rich, even if they didn't tap that equity, and that feeling encouraged them to spend. And many homeowners did tap that equity, using home equity loans or credit lines.