This past week's released economic data reports came from several housing market areas, all of which showed some improvement over the past month. At the same time, Freerateupdate.com's daily survey of wholesale and direct lenders show that mortgage rates have continued to remain stable and at low levels for the past week.

Conforming 30 year fixed mortgage rates are at 4.750%, 15 year fixed mortgage rates are at 4.000% and 5/1 adjustable mortgage rates are at 3.125%. Conforming mortgage loans require good credit in order to obtain lender approval and the lowest mortgage rates with 0.7 to 1% origination fee. Conforming 30 year and 15 year fixed rate mortgages are the most popular of this group because they offer security with a consistent mortgage payment over the life of the loan.

The trend with borrowers for several years continues to be FHA mortgage loans. FHA 30 year fixed mortgage rates are at 4.500%, FHA 15 year fixed mortgage rates are at 4.250% and FHA 5/1 adjustable mortgage rates are at 3.750%. For borrowers who have a limited amount of available funds, FHA mortgage loans offer a low down payment option, as well as easier credit qualifying. FHA also accepts gifts from several sources that can be used for the down payment. These benefits often override any FHA downsides, such as higher FHA closing costs (APR) due to the upfront mortgage insurance premium and other various FHA fees.

Jumbo mortgage interest rates continue to be consistently low and beneficial for the high end borrower. Jumbo 30 year fixed mortgage rates are at 5.375%, jumbo 15 year mortgage rates are at 5.000% and jumbo 5/1 adjustable mortgage rates are at 3.875%. Borrowers need jumbo mortgage loans for mortgage financing above the conforming loan limit which is $417,000 to $729,000 depending on location. In order to obtain these low jumbo mortgage rates with 0.7 to 1% origination fee, borrowers must have outstanding credit and the ability to meet approval guidelines set by lenders.

MBS prices (also known as mortgage backed securities) are dependent upon market conditions and investor sentiment. Mortgage rates move in the opposite direction of MBS prices. Recent data released showed a very necessary improvement in the sluggish housing market. For the month of March, housing starts saw a jump, existing home sales increased and home mortgages rose. Yesterday, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that new home sales were stronger than expected. Through all of this, MBS prices fluctuated a little in both directions, but never enough to make a change in mortgage.

Published: April 27, 2011

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Edward James Ferrara III spent 8 years (2001-2008) brokering and banking home loans in Orange County, CA to the tune of some 500 million dollars in mortgages funded by May of 2008, when he founded the rate research website FreeRateUpdate.com. Ed is not only the founder of FreeRateUpdate.com, he is also a lead contributor to the site, whose roster includes over a dozen writers and of which receives over 50,000 page views per month. Ed's passion for helping consumers to avoid falling victim to banks dishing out higher rates for bigger profits has helped FreeRateUpdate.com to become a unique authority on mortgage rates. Ed recently married Cheyne Aki Gantt and became a first time father to Edward James Ferrara IV, born August 31st 2009. Ed and FreeRateUpdate.com have recently been cited in numerous media outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Yahoo Finance, and Marketwatch.