Refi season is here: Mortgage rates tumble again

Mortgage rates continued their downward spiral this week, following a renewed sense of uncertainty in the global economy. This marks the sixth straight week of falling interest rates.

Yellen and yields

Investors continued retreating to government bonds earlier this week as oil prices slid and other international market concerns resurfaced.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell more than 10 basis points from last week, going from about 1.88 percent to an intraday low of 1.70 percent Wednesday. Yields began briefly reversing course ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony before Congress, during which she highlighted problematic financial conditions and how they will affect the central bank’s monetary policy.

“They were actually talking about the fact that they might have to undo the (December) rate increase and possibly look at negative interest rates,” says Brett Sinnott, vice president of capital markets for CMG Financial in San Ramon, Calif.

Mortgage rates typically move in the same direction as long-term government bonds.

This week’s rates

* The benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.78 percent from 3.88 percent, according to Bankrate’s Feb. 10 survey of large lenders. A year ago, it was 3.9 percent. Four weeks ago, the rate was 4.05 percent. The mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.20 discount and origination points. Over the past 52 weeks, the 30-year fixed has averaged 4.01 percent. This week’s rate is 0.23 percentage points lower than the 52-week average. This is the lowest rate for the 30-year fixed since May 2013.

* The benchmark 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.06 percent from 3.15 percent.

* The benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate jumbo mortgage fell to 3.68 percent from 3.77 percent.

* The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.18 percent from 3.21 percent.

Foreclosures down

National completed foreclosures dropped 22.6 percent from December 2014 to December 2015, according to data from CoreLogic. The number of foreclosures completed in December 2015 — 32,000 — was down 72.8 percent from the September 2010 peak of 117,722.

The real estate data firm also found that the number of seriously delinquent mortgages fell by 23.3 percent year over year in December. A mortgage that is seriously delinquent is at least 90 days past due.

Mortgage applications jumped 9.3 percent last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey. The unadjusted refinance index jumped 16 percent while the purchase index increased 12 percent.

Ready, set, re-fi!

Jim Sahnger, mortgage planner with Schaffer Mortgage in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, has four words for homeowners who are thinking about refinancing but haven’t yet taken the initiative: “Pick up the phone.”

A lot of homeowners may not have considered refinancing yet because they are busy with other aspects of everyday life, he adds.

“We still see a lot of people that have interest rates that are in the 5s.”

Rates probably won’t change direction anytime soon, so there’s no need to rush, Sinnott says.

“You can be patient now (and) take your time to find the right loan officer, find the right loan,” he says.