Rates for big loans tumble: Jumbo mortgages more affordable, boosting market

The Boston Globe reports:

Interest rates for big-dollar mortgage loans have dropped to record lows, spurring sales in the long-stagnant upper tier of the region’s housing market and allowing some homeowners to save hundreds of dollars a month by refinancing.

Over the past year, the average interest rate for so-called jumbo loans — $523,750 and up in the Boston area — has fallen from 6 percent to about 5 percent for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. That translates into a monthly savings of about $375 on a $600,000 loan.