Mortgage rates continued to climb during the week ended Feb. 8, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rising to 4.32%, up from 4.22% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
It was the highest average rate for a 30-year FRM since December 2016.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.17%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.77%, up from 3.68%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.39%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.57%, up from 3.53%.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a five-year ARM averaged 3.21%.
“The U.S. weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rocketed up 10 basis points to 4.32 percent this week,” says Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. “Following a turbulent Monday, financial markets settled down with the 10-year Treasury yield resuming its upward march. Mortgage rates have followed. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is up 33 basis points since the start of the year.
“Will higher rates break housing market momentum?” Kiefer adds. “It’s too early to tell for sure, but initial readings indicate housing markets are sustaining their momentum so far. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that purchase applications were up eight percent from a year ago in its latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.”