Mortgage rates were more or less flat during the week ended March 22, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) at 4.45%, up slightly from 4.44% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.23%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.91%, up slightly from 3.90%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.44%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.68%, up slightly from 3.67%. A year ago at this time, the five-year ARM averaged 3.24%.
“The Federal Reserve raised interest rates – a much-anticipated move that comes as both U.S. and global economic fundamentals continue to strengthen,” says Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. “The Fed’s decision to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point puts the federal funds rate at its highest level since 2008. The decision, while widely expected, sent the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury soaring. Following Treasurys, mortgage rates shrugged off last week’s drop and continued their upward march. The U.S. weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose one basis point to 4.45 percent in this week’s survey.
“So far, U.S. housing markets remain resilient in the face of higher mortgage rates,” Kiefer adds. “The National Association of Realtors reported this week that existing home sales in February increased three percent month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis and are up 1.1 percent from a year ago. That momentum is carrying through into spring. In the latest Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the home purchase mortgage applications index was up six percent from the same week a year ago.”