Mortgage rates ticked up again during the week ended March 12 on reports that the U.S. job market was improving, but the average rate for a fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) held below 4.0%, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The average rate for a 30-year FRM was 3.86%, up from 3.75% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.37%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.10%, up from 3.03% the week prior. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.38%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.01%, up from 2.96%. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 3.09%.
The average rate for a one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.46%, up slightly from 2.44%. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 2.48%.
Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac, says the rise in rates during the previous several weeks ‘essentially brings rates back to where they were at the start of the year.’
‘The U.S. economy created 295,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate dipped to 5.5 percent from 5.7 percent in January, both outperforming market expectations,’ Kiefer says in a statement.