Mortgage rates ticked down slightly this week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey – however, with the Federal Reserve's announcement that it will continue tapering its bond-buying program and its indication that a hike in short-term rates may come as soon as mid-2015, it is expected that rates will tick back up again soon.
For the week ending March 20, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.32%, down from 4.37% the week prior. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.54%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.32%, down from 3.38% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.72%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.02%, down from 3.09% the week prior. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 2.61%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.49%, up slightly from 2.48% the week prior. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.63%.
‘Mortgage rates eased this week as housing starts declined 0.2 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 907,000, below consensus forecast,’ says Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. ‘The rate on the 10-year Treasury note rose following the Fed's announcement Wednesday afternoon, and if this holds, interest rates may begin to trend higher going into next week.’