Mortgage Rates Thursday, March 2: Fixed Rates Up; Down Payments Lower

Thirty-year and 15-year fixed rates were up incrementally, as 5/1 ARM rates held firm, according to a NerdWallet survey of mortgage rates today published by national lenders Thursday morning.

Mortgage Rates Today, Thursday, March 2:

(Change from 3/1)
30-year fixed: 4.38% APR (+0.02)
15-year fixed: 3.75% APR (+0.01)
5/1 ARM: 3.84% APR (NC)

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Down payments getting smaller

The mortgage loan process is changing. It’s becoming more automated and more online. And with that, two other trends are emerging: More of our home loans are being made by “nonbank” lenders, and the down payments we make are getting smaller.

While 20% down payments have long been favored by lenders, median down payments haven’t been anywhere close to that for years now. And in 2016, down payments — as a percentage of a home’s value — fell for the third year in a row, according to research by ATTOM Data Solutions.

» MORE: Calculate your monthly mortgage payment

“For the year, the median down payment for loans secured by single family homes and condos was 6% of the median sales price nationwide, the lowest down payment percentage since 2012, but still close to twice the 3.3% in 2006 during the last housing boom,” Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM, said in a news release.

Since 2001, median down payments haven’t risen higher than $16,000, or 7% of a home’s median sales price.

Meanwhile, nonbank lenders are gaining a higher share of the mortgage lending market.

According to ATTOM, the top two loan originators in the fourth quarter of 2016 were nonbank lenders Quicken Loans and Caliber Home Loans. Wells Fargo, the nonbank lender Fairway and JPMorgan Chase rounded out the top five.

While the nonbank lenders all saw year-over-year increases in their purchase mortgages business, the two big banks in the top five saw their mortgage loan activity decline. Wells Fargo’s purchase loans were down 5%, while JPMorgan Chase saw a 15% decrease.

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

NerdWallet daily mortgage rates are an average of the published annual percentage rate with the lowest points for each loan term offered by a sampling of major national lenders. APR 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: [email protected]. Twitter: @halmbundrick.

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The article Mortgage Rates Thursday, March 2: Fixed Rates Up; Down Payments Lower originally appeared on NerdWallet.

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