LendingTree.com Weekly Mortgage Rate Pulse Reports Rates Continue to Fall

CHARLOTTE, NC (August 4, 2010) – Mortgage rates continued to fall this week, according to the LendingTree.com Weekly Mortgage Rate Pulse, a snapshot of the lowest and average mortgage rates available within the LendingTree network of lenders.

On August 3, lenders on the LendingTree network offered mortgage rates as low as 4.125 percent (4.26% APR) for a 30-year fixed mortgage, 3.625 percent (3.97% APR) for a 15-year fixed mortgage and 3.00 percent (3.46% APR) for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). Rates for all product types dropped an eighth of a point to new lows.

Average rates offered by lenders on the LendingTree network increased slightly to 4.54 percent (4.74% APR) for 30-year fixed mortgages, 4.05 percent (4.36% APR) for 15-year fixed mortgages and 3.51 percent (3.73% APR) for 5/1 ARMs.

“Last week’s second quarter Gross Domestic Product numbers reflected a 2.4% growth rate, less than the forecasted 2.6%, said Cameron Findlay, Chief Economist of LendingTree.com.  “There is a strong relationship of bond prices to inflation risk. Generally as the risk to inflation grows, bond prices move lower, leading mortgage rates to increase. Recently, there has been a very low risk of inflation, forcing bond prices higher and mortgage rates to move lower. With price growth slower than expected, borrowers can expect mortgage rates to remain low.”

Below is a state-by-state comparison with week-over-week indicators of mortgage data including a snapshot of the lowest 30-year fixed rates offered by lenders on the LendingTree network, average loan-to-value ratio and percentage of consumers with negative equity.