California mortgage rates set all time record lows the same week the national average 30 year fixed rate was reported at 4.71% by Freddie Mac. Low California mortgage rates have sparked the local real estate market as many areas of California have stabilized. Even areas such as Riverside, hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis, have seen home prices stabilize. Talk of a new wave of foreclosures and rising mortgage rates have some uneasy. Mortgage Stanley economist David Greenlaw went as far as to say mortgage rates will hit 8% next year.
California mortgage rates today are still historically low. FreeRateUpdate.com research of wholesale lender’s California mortgage rates shows a slight improvement today but clearly rates are trending upward. The benchmark 10 year treasury yield, used to forecast 30 year fixed mortgage rates, is near an 8 month high. Today’s California 30 year fixed rate at par is 5.125%, in line with most areas of the country. Today’s 15 year fixed California mortgage rate is 4.375%, up from 4.25%. Today’s California 5/1 ARM rate is 4%.
California is made up largely of Jumbo mortgages and jumbo mortgage rates have actually held despite conforming rates spiking. Today’s California 30 year fixed jumbo mortgage rate is 5.75%. Today’s California jumbo 5/1 ARM rate is 5% flat.