U.S. long-term mortgage rates resumed rising this week after falling to their lowest level since mid-September of last year, MarketWatch reports.
The average interest rate on 30-year loans rose to 6.12% per year this week, up from 6.09% a week earlier, data from Freddie Mac, the state mortgage corporation, showed. A year earlier it was 3.69%.
Fifteen-year loans now average 5.25 percent a year, compared with 5.14 percent a week earlier and 2.93 percent a year ago.
“After the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike and an unexpectedly strong jobs report, mortgage rates rose slightly this week. The 30-year rate is still hovering around 6 percent, and interested buyers are returning to the market just in time for the spring home-buying season,” notes Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater.
Freddie Mac calculates average rates based on data from about 80 institutions that provide mortgages nationwide. The rates do not take into account potential fees and other fees associated with mortgages.
Traditionally, the cost of mortgages with a slight lag repeats the dynamics of U.S. government bond yields, which in turn are responsive to the Federal Reserve’s rate increases and forecasts of its dynamics in the future. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries is around 3.684% p.a. on Friday, up from 3.524% a week earlier.
