Mortgage rates soar to pre-Brexit levels

After two weeks of uncertainty, mortgage rates gradually climb back to levels seen before Britain's Brexit vote.

The Brexit interest rate discount has disappeared. Mortgage rates took a sudden turn higher Thursday and are now back to levels seen prior to Britain’s exit from the European Union, according to a NerdWallet survey of national lenders. Rates on 30-year mortgages have been gradually climbing higher over the past week and today most major lenders repriced their terms significantly higher.

In spite of today’s spike in interest rates, industry experts remain optimistic.

“We describe the last few weeks as A Tale of Two Rates,” Sean Becketti, chief economist of Freddie Mac, said in a release. “Immediately following the Brexit vote, U.S. Treasury yields plummeted to all-time lows. This week, markets stabilized and the 10-year Treasury yield rebounded sharply. In contrast, the 30-year mortgage rate declined after the Brexit vote, but only by half as much as the 10-year Treasury yield. This pattern suggests that mortgage rates are likely to remain low throughout the summer.”

The NerdWallet Mortgage Rate Index compiles annual percentage rates — lender interest rates plus fees, the most accurate way for consumers to compare rates. Here are today’s average rates for the most popular loan terms:

Purchase Mortgage Rates: July 14, 2016

(Change from 7/13)

30-year fixed: 3.64% APR (+0.05)

15-year fixed: 3.01% APR (+0.05)

5/1 ARM: 3.39% APR (+0.01)

 

Refinance Mortgage Rates: July 14, 2016

(Change from 7/13)

30-year fixed: 3.72% APR (+0.05)

15-year fixed: 3.04% APR (+0.06)

5/1 ARM: 3.41% APR (+0.01)

Homeowners looking to lower their mortgage rate can shop for refinance lenders here.

Wells Fargo, Chase and BOA mortgage rates

Three major components of the NerdWallet Mortgage Rate Index are leading lenders Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America. Their current purchase mortgage rates are:

Bank mortgage rates 7/14

	30-year fixed	15-year fixed	5/1 ARM
Wells Fargo	3.67% APR	2.98% APR	3.38% APR
Chase	3.44% APR	2.79% APR	3.36% APR
Bank of America	3.67% APR	N/A	3.32% APR

NerdWallet daily mortgage rates are an average of the published APR with the lowest points for each loan term offered by a sampling of major national lenders. Annual percentage rate quotes reflect an interest rate plus points, fees and other expenses, providing the most accurate view of the costs a borrower might pay.

Hal Bundrick is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:hal@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @halmbundrick.

This article first appeared at NerdWallet.