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Thirty-year fixed rates were incrementally higher, 15-year fixed mortgage rates were unchanged and 5/1 ARM rates moved up Wednesday, according to a NerdWallet survey of mortgage rates published by national lenders.

After several days of substantial repricing, first in one direction and then in the opposite, lenders were simply fine-tuning their mortgage rates this morning. Little is expected to influence rates significantly until the Federal Reserve announces its decision on short-term interest rates next week.

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(Change from 9/13)

• 30-year fixed: 3.69% APR (+0.01)
• 15-year fixed: 3.10% APR (NC)
• 5/1 ARM: 3.56% APR (+0.03)

Overall, U.S. housing market favors buying over renting

The national housing market has recovered to such a degree that, as a whole, homeownership is favored over renting, according to the latest Buy vs. Rent Index produced by Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University.

The study found 15 of the 23 metropolitan markets considered trending more in favor of ownership since last quarter. The index factors property appreciation and homeownership costs versus renting a comparable property. Savings are invested in a portfolio of stocks and bonds.

“Housing prices, in general, continue to slow and, when considered in light of the recent trends in the Buy vs. Rent Index, signal that ownership remains an excellent investment for the majority of Americans, ” Ken Johnson, a real estate economist and one of the index’s authors, said in a news release.

Honolulu; Kansas City, Missouri; Los Angeles; Miami; Pittsburgh; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco and Seattle are considered to be minimally in rent territory and showing signs of slowing — while Dallas, Denver and Houston are deep into rent territory.

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 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.

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