Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

Positive economic and housing news lifted fixed mortgage rates to their highest level in months this week. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.42 (0.7 point) for the week ending January 24, up from 3.38 percent last week. The last time the average 30-year reading was this high was September 29 of last year, Freddie Mac said. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac, said the rise in fixed rates is unlikely to deter the housing recovery.

Applications for purchase loans reached their highest level since 2010 last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. The group's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 18 showed overall application volume was up a seasonally adjusted 7 percent from the prior week. On an unadjusted basis, application volume was up about 8 percent. The rise in applications comes despite a slight rise in interest rates.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey registered little motion among rates for the week ending January 17. The average 30-year fixed rate slipped to 3.38 percent (0.7 point), down from 3.40 percent last week. The 15-year fixed rate averaged 2.66 percent (0.7 point), the same as in the previous week's survey. Bankrate.com, on the other hand, reported more extreme shifts as markets grow increasingly nervous about the country's continued financial uncertainties.

Mortgage rates took a jump this week as markets await the fiscal drama to unfold in the next few months. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.40 (0.7 point) percent for the week ending January 10, up somewhat significantly from 3.34 percent in 2013's first survey. Bankrate reported similar results in its weekly survey, with the 30-year fixed average soaring to 3.67 percent--its highest level since September.

In November, the National Association of Realtors' Housing Affordability Index reached 198.2, up 1.5 points from a year ago. The association projects the index will achieve a record high of 194 for 2012. However, record high affordability doesn't necessarily translate into more homeowners, as "excessively tight underwriting precluded many would-be homebuyers from locking-in generational low interest rates," explained chief economist Lawrence Yun.

Mortgage applications increased 11.7 percent for the week ending January 4, with refinances rising 12 percent and purchase applications up 10 percent.

According to one mortgage lender, we can expect declining originations, rising interest rates, and fewer mortgage professionals.

December saw mixed signals in terms of housing demand, according to Redfin's latest Real-Time Demand Pulse.

According to a report from Fitch, home prices have risen at their greatest pace since 2005, but in certain markets, technical factors--including low mortgage rates, tight supply of existing for-sale homes, and weak levels of new home construction--rather than "fundamentals" acted as the driving force behind the price gains over the past few quarters. In order to determine sustainability, Fitch conducted an analysis using its Sustainable Home Price (SHP) model.

After going into free-fall for much of 2012, fixed mortgage rates started off 2013 with very slight declines.