Mortgage rates continued their upward climb this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rising to 4.4%, up from 4.38%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.16%.
It was the seventh consecutive week that the 30-year increased.
For the week ended Feb. 22, the average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.85%, up from 3.84%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.37%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.65%, up from 3.63% a week earlier. A year ago at this time, the five-year ARM averaged 3.16%.
“Fixed mortgage rates increased for the seventh consecutive week, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate reaching 4.4 percent in this week’s survey; the highest since April of 2014,” says Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. “Mortgage rates have followed U.S. Treasuries higher in anticipation of higher rates of inflation and further monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve. Following the close of our survey, the release of the FOMC minutes for Feb. 21 sent the 10-year Treasury above 2.9 percent. If those increases stick, we will likely see mortgage rates continue to trend higher.”