After weeks of moderation, mortgage interest rates finally pushed forward, according to the latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.41% for the week ending March 7, 2019, according to the survey, rising from last week's rate of 4.35%.
Notably, this week’s rate is moderately lower than last year’s rate of 4.46%.
Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said while mortgage rates very modestly rose to 4.41% this week, they remain below last year's levels for the fourth week in a row.
“In late 2018, mortgage rates rose over a full percentage point from the prior year, which was one of the main reasons that weakness in home sales continued into early 2019,” Khater continued. “However, the impact of recent lower rates and a strong labor market has led to a rise in purchase mortgage demand as we start the spring homebuying season.”
The 15-year FRM averaged 3.83% this week, moderately increasing from last week’s 3.77%. This time last year, the 15-year FRM was much higher sitting at 3.94%.
Lastly, the five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.87%, inching forward from last week’s rate of 3.84. Once again, this rate remains moderately higher than the same time period in 2018, when it averaged 3.63%.
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