The average rate, which was 6.94 percent two weeks ago, assumes borrowers pay 1 point, a fee equal to 1 percent of the loan. For the same mortgage but with zero points, the average Thursday was 7.37 percent. Mortgage rates bottomed out this year on March 22, at 6.7 percent with one point and 6.95 percent with no points, Mortgage News reports. The average rate also got close to that low point in early February. But since the March low, the average rate has bounced from around 6.88 percent to 7.12 percent.
Analysts offer a variety of explanations.
The Federal Reserve has cut short-term interest rates five times this year. Such experts say that for mortgage rates to drop a lot from today's levels the U.S. economy must show more signs of serious weakness. Meanwhile, consumers should not despair, experts say. They stress that plenty of mortgage shoppers over the past 30 years would have appreciated today's rates. Mortgage rates hit their 30-plus year low water mark back in early October 1998, averaging 6.68 percent, according to HSH Associates, which surveys hundreds of lenders across the nation daily.