National Mortgage Rates Fall to Six-Month Low; Current 30-Year Fixed Rate is 4.70%, According to Zillow® Mortgage Rate Ticker

SEATTLE--May 18, 2010, 10 a.m. Pacific – The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is currently 4.70 percent, down nine basis points from 4.79 percent compared to this same time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate spiked early Friday to around 4.82 percent before falling to 4.70 today.  The last time the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was this low was in early December 2009.

Half of a percentage point in a 30-year fixed loan can save the buyer of a $300,000 home more than $26,000 over the life of the loan.

Zillow’s real-time mortgage rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers through the site, and reflect the most recent changes in the market. These are not marketing rates, or a weekly survey.

The rate for 15-year fixed home loans is currently 4.13 percent, while the rate for 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) is 3.44 percent.

The total volume of mortgage requests in the past week was up 4.4 percent from the prior week. Of last week’s requests, 31 percent were for refinance loans, 67 percent were for purchase loans and 2 percent were for home equity loans. The prior week, 29 percent of requests were for refinance loans, 69 percent were for purchase loans and 2 percent were for home equity loans.

Below are current rates for 30-year fixed mortgages by state. Additional states’ rates are available at: www.zillow.com/Mortgage_Rates.

California Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.69%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.77%

Change in Basis Points: -8

Colorado Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.62%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.79%

Change in Basis Points: -13

Florida Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.66%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.72%

Change in Basis Points: -6

Illinois Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.59%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.88%

Change in Basis Points: -29

Massachusetts Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.75%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.79%

Change in Basis Points: -4

New Jersey Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.72%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.86%

Change in Basis Points: -14

New York Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.68%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.89%

Change in Basis Points: -21

Pennsylvania Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.81%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.80%

Change in Basis Points: +1

Texas Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.71%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.87%

Change in Basis Points: -16

Washington Mortgage Rates

Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/18/10): 4.74%

Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (5/11/10): 4.88%

Change in Basis Points: -14