Fixed-mortgage rates jumped for the third consecutive week, which should further aid home sales and construction in coming weeks, Freddie Mac said in a report Thursday.
The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage settled at 3.59%, up slightly from 3.51% last week, but down from 3.78% last year, Freddie stated in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
“Fixed-rates moved up for the third consecutive week, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage about a quarter-percentage point higher than three weeks ago,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac.
He added, “While this may slow some of the refinance momentum, rates are nonetheless low and home-buyer affordability high.”
Meanwhile, the 15-year, FRM continued to swing up to 2.77%, compared to 2.69% last week, while dropping from 3.04% last year.
Additionally, the 5-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage barely increased to 2.63%, up from 2.62% last week but down from 2.83% a year ago.
Staying unchanged, the 1-year Treasury-index ARM remained at 2.55% this week, sinking from 2.75% a year earlier.
Bankrate data also shows mortgage rates escalating for the third consecutive week.
Bankrate’s 30-year, FRM inched up to 3.74% from 3.71% last week.
In addition, the 15-year, FRM climbed to 2.97%, continuing up from 2.92% a week earlier, while the 5/1 ARM increased to 2.7% from 2.68%.
