Mortgage Rates Today, Friday, Dec. 23: Slight Dip; Foreclosure Starts Are Up

Heading into Christmas weekend, mortgage rates are easing slightlywith30-year fixed loansand 5/1 ARM ratesdippingand 15-year fixed loans remaining the same on Friday,according to a NerdWalletsurvey of mortgage rates published by national lendersthis morning.

Mortgage Rates Today,
Friday, Dec. 23

(Change from 12/22)
30-year fixed: 4.49% APR (-0.02)
15-year fixed: 3.88% APR (NC)
5/1 ARM: 3.91% APR (-0.01)

Foreclosure starts rose in November, but still near 10-year lows

Some homeowners in the U.S. are struggling to repay their mortgage. Foreclosure starts increased nearly 7% in Novemberover October, but were down by over 9% when compared with the same period last year, according to Black Knight Financial Services’ First Look report.

Overall, there were 60,400 foreclosure starts in November, up from 58,500in October, Black Knight said. Despite the upward tick, however,foreclosure startsstill remain near 10-year lows,Black Knight reported.

» MORE:HARP: What you need to know

What’s worth watching is the number of loan delinquencies, which are loans that are 30 days or more past due but not yet in the foreclosure process. The total loan delinquency rate in November was4.46% (2.26 million loans), up by 2.5% from the October rate of 4.35%, according to the report. In a press release, Black Knight called the slight uptick “a relatively mild seasonal increase by historical standards.”

Black Knight found that the following five states had the largest increasesin the total number of both foreclosures and delinquent mortgages in the past six months:

– Louisiana (+10.59%)
– Wyoming(+10.08%)
– South Dakota, (+8.34%)
– Nebraska (+7.89%)
– Iowa (+7.45%)
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Homeowners looking to lower their mortgage rate can shop for refinance lenders here.

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

Deborah Kearns is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: dkearns@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:@debbie_kearns.

The article Mortgage Rates Today, Friday, Dec. 23: Slight Dip; Foreclosure Starts Are Up originally appeared on NerdWallet.