Bankrate sees yet another week of mortgage rate declines to end January

Bankrate’s latest weekly national survey released Thursday found that all mortgage rates declined for the fourth straight week, likely pleasing homeowners looking to refinance their home in order to cut costs and consolidate debt.

Short-term rates had the best overall week, as the average rate for 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages declined by 0.09 percentage points to 4.54 percent for the biggest drop-off. It was the only rate decline that exceeded its figure, a 0.06 percentage point decline, from one week earlier as well.

Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages’ average rate fell 0.03 percentage points to hit 5.13 percent. One week earlier the rate had seen a more substantial drop of 0.08 percentage points.

Fifteen-year FRMs declined by 0.02 percentage points as well to hit 4.54 percent for the week. The week prior the average rate had fallen by 0.06 percentage points .

Bankrate also found that while mortgage rates have benefitted from consecutive weeks of decline since the beginning of 2010, experts did not expect the trend to last much longer. According to the Rate Trend Index, which compiles expert predictions on how mortgages will fare in the next week, half of experts forecast that rates would rise. Twenty-nine percent said mortgage rates would likely remain stable, while 21 percent expected more declines.