06-09 Mortgage Rates for the Week ending June 3 2009 Suggested Reading

            Mortgage rates surged for the second straight week.

            The average 30-year fixed rate jumped 20 basis points, to 5.65%. A basis point is one-hundredth of a%age point. The 30-year fixed has increased 41 basis points over the past two weeks.

            This week's average 15-year fixed rate -- a popular option for refinancing -- also surged 20 basis points, to 5.06%.

            The average jumbo 30-year fixed rose 8 basis points, to 6.68%.

            Adjustable-rate mortgages were split. The one-year, adjustable-rate mortgage fell 2 basis points, to 5.01%. The popular 5/1 ARM jumped 26 basis points, to 5.2%.

            Mortgage application activity fell 16.2% for the week ending May 29 when compared with a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

            Refinancing activity plunged sharply for the second straight week, down 24.1%. The recent climb in mortgage rates appears to be taking a bite out of refinance activity, with the MBA's four-week moving average now down 12%.

            By contrast, applications for new purchase rose modestly this week by 4.3%.

In other mortgage news:

            Pending home sales increased for the third straight month in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales rose 6.7%, to a reading of 90.3, the biggest monthly jump since October 2001.

            Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures reached record levels during the first quarter of 2009, according to the MBA. The delinquency rate was a seasonally adjusted 9.12% of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter. In addition, foreclosure actions began on 1.37% of all first mortgages during the first three months of the year.