Mortgage rates rebounded following a better-than-expected jobs report, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 4.66 percent, according to last week’s Bankrate.com national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.28 discount and origination points.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 3.75 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 4.82 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages moved higher also. The popular 5-year adjustable rate jumped to 3.63 percent, the highest in more than two years, while the 10-year adjustable hit 4.07 percent.  

Last week’s jump in mortgage rates, which more than wiped out the prior week's retreat, came after the release of the monthly employment report. Job growth for June that exceeded expectations, coupled with upward revisions to April and May payrolls, were evidence of the type of improvement the Fed will need to see to begin curtailing their bond purchases. And for that reason, we saw further increases in both bond yields and mortgage rates, to levels above where they were following Ben Bernanke's late June press conference.  

According to a July 10 MarketWatch news bulletin, however, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that the Federal Reserve will not be in a hurry to raise the short-term interest rate, even after the unemployment rates falls to the central bank's threshold of 6.5 percent. "There will not be an automatic increase in interest rate when unemployment hits 6.5 percent," Bernanke said in the question-and-answer session of a speech to economists in Boston, as reported by MarketWatch. “Given the weakness of the labor market, and low inflation, “it may be well sometime after we hit 6.5 percent before rates reach any significant level."

As recently as May 1, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.52 percent, according to Bankrate. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $900.32. With the average rate currently at 4.66 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,032.47, a difference of $132 per month for anyone that waited just a little too long.

Bankrate's national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets. Results for the July 10 survey included:

• 30-year fixed: 4.66% - up from 4.48% the week prior (avg. points: 0.28)
• 15-year fixed: 3.75% -- up from 3.62% the week prior (avg. points: 0.26)
• 5/1 ARM: 3.63% -- up from 3.48% the week prior (avg. points: 0.33)

Sources: Bankrate.com; MarketWatch