Mortgage rates moved up this week as more of the market begins to anticipate an upcoming rate hike.
“This week the 10-year Treasury yield continued its climb as an increasing number of financial market participants foresee a December rate hike after a series of positive economic data releases,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sean Becketti said. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved up 5 basis points to 3.47% in this week’s survey, the first increase in one month.”
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(Source: Freddie Mac)
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 3.47% for the week ending Oct. 13, 2016. This is up from last week’s ten-week low of 3.42%, but still down from last year’s 3.82%.
The 15-year FRM also increased to 2.76%, up from last week’s 2.72%. It is still down from last year’s 3.03%.
The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage increased slightly to 2.82%, up from last week’s 2.8% but down from last year’s 2.88%.
“Even though we’ve seen economic activity pick up, consumer price inflation and implied inflation expectations remain below the Federal Reserve’s 2% target,” Becketti said.
The Federal Open Market Committee released its minutes Wednesday, showing that in September’s meeting there was division between members who wanted a rate hike and those who took a more cautious approach.
